Gambling Affairs
by TheRedHarlequist
Summary: Love can be a fruitful thing. It can also be a dangerous thing when it's wrapped around murders, drugs, yellow tape and white chalk.
1. The Royal House

This will be my first ever story, not the short stories I've been conjuring up with as of late. Hopefully, you guys will enjoy it just as you've enjoyed my other one (I can't thank you enough for the reviews you've given me on my last short story ^^) Feel free to drop any criticism in the reviews as I will try to go about fixing mistakes seen here and there.  
>Characters (c) to Eiichiro Oda, owner of probably the best damn series alive (opinions people, opinions). Story will have graphic depictions of violence, as well as sexual scenes that aren't suited for the faint of heart. If murder, drugs, and incest are triggering in anyway, please do not read this story. Don't say I didn't warn you.<br>~Enjoy

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><p><em>You can get more done with a kind word and a gun than with a kind word alone. <em>

_Alfonso 'Al' Capone_

**Chapter 1.  
>The Royal House<strong>

**H**ey now, hurry up with those drinks! We gotta table over here!"

"Right, on my way!"

The steel metallic shaker filled up Trafalgar Law's ears with the sounds of ice and drink mix before it was equally poured into three wine glasses. Setting aside the mixer, Law placed the lightly peached hued wine glasses onto a metal round plate, before carrying it off to a man dressed in black and white. He received the metal plate and exited the bar, then carried himself onwards to an awaiting table. An incessant ringing from a bell could be heard coming from there.

Law returned back to the drink mixer, where another order was already waiting for him. _Three martinis served with limes on the side. _Taking the white slip of paper and crumbling it up, Law tossed it into a nearby trashcan and set to work making the order.

Around him, The Royal House was alive with shouts and laughter. Lights reflected off of gold-encrusted surfaces and mahogany counter tops while glowering over velvety red carpets. Men and women dressed in black, dark reds, and other solid colors were settled around poker tables and dining seats, enjoying one another's company and obtaining money. Those that weren't seated at the poker tables, or enjoying the exquisite five-star meals being brought out to their dining areas, stood transfixed at the exotic female dancers towards the very back of the casino.

Taking his eyes away from the drinks to stare at the lively scene before him, Law emitted a low sigh. The Royal House was especially rowdy this Thursday night, which was a rare occurrence to Law. He only spent a couple of days working as the bartender, so he was still knew to the casino, but the raven haired New Yorker could already pick up a good vibe bouncing off the wall. Finishing off the martinis by adding a sliced lime to the rim, Law placed the drinks onto another round plate and carefully slid them to them edge of the counter.

Another male dressed in black and white took the drinks and husked them away to ringing table. Without the presence of another white slip, Law took a seat back and watched the Royal House. His mind, having been focused on mixing alcoholic beverages and serving them, went blank before going to the day in which he stumbled across the job.

"_Oi, kid—this ain't a place in which you can just walk on in to. Just where in the hell do you think you're going?" _

_He stood before two large men, one of them being several feet taller than he while the other was more on the round side. The taller man that addressed him first wore a dark red suit with a black tie and matching colored shoes; a waterfall of wavy brown hair spilled over his shoulders, with some of the dark colored strands resting underneath a red hat. _

_Law, having swallowed down the fear that was etched into his throat, turned to regard the man of his presence. "I'm here searching for a part-time job. I found this place online, and was—" _

"_Whoa, whoa, a job? Slow down kid, this ain't no place that's hiring rookies. We have enough workers as is." _

"_Y-You're not hiring..?" The shock was evident in Law's voice, presenting itself through the stutter of the first letter. "D-Did it sound like I stuttered? We ain't hiring, so run along back to wherever the hell you came from so we can return back to business." _

_Law couldn't bring himself to turn around; not after spending several hours of the day searching for the place. He desperately needed money, and no other places were hiring around the area he attended school. And if that wasn't scaring him enough, the fact that he was pushing his father into more debt already had him teetering on the edge. "Please you guys, I _need _this job. I'm sure you have enough room to all—" _

"_Neeee—we already declared no! Stop persisting and get the hell on!"_

_The man beside Mr. Red spoke up; his voice sounded nasally, as if he had a cold. A long sniff made that comparison true, and Law took a step back; not out of fear, but not wanting to be anywhere near a sickly adult. "If you don't leave us alone, I swear I'll—" _

"_Calm down, Trebol. He's just a kid." _

_The man with the cold, Trebol, could only snort. Mr. Red turned back to address Law; the sneer was ever present on his smirking face. "You say you need this job? Tell me this, how badly do you need this job? Depending on your answer depends if I even think about considering you for the application." _

_Thinking that he's going somewhere, Law's shoulders began to rise. "I'm… to put it, having little financial problems, you see… It's sort of personal, I hope you guys understand—" _

"_So you came here looking for easy money?" _

"_Yeah—" _

"_HAHAHA!" The two broke into a raucous laughter that rivaled the commotion happening inside the building. Law took a step back in surprise at this; the sounds of hysteria mixed with congestion made him flinch and cringe. Just as soon as they started laughing, they stopped, and a serious expression formed on Mr. Red's face. "Kid, you might as well turn back around. This job here, it ain't easy. Ain't even _close _to being easy. You think just walking in here and asking for a job to make easy money'll cut it for you? Boy, you won't even make it far in the real world!" _

"_Behehe, this kid's so stupid! You think you even have what it takes to be in this place? Behehe, I can't even control myself, behehehehee!" _

_The way they were dissing him made Law's insides turn to ice. The laughter rolled around in his head, filling it with regret for even taking the time out of his day to search for the place. 'This was a damn waste of my time' he thought to himself. _

_Mr. Red and Trebol finally ceased their laughter to chuckling. Once it was silent, Law resumed talking. "Look, can you at least tell me what it takes to get this job? I'm not asking for much here; just something to tide me over until my year ends." _

"_Oh, so you're a student in school, eh?" _

"_College student, not high school." _

"_Pfft, same difference." Trebol's nasally voice broke a nerve in Law's brain. "Kid, no matter how much pleading or a sob story you give us, we ain't gonna let you in. We can't let you in; it's against one of Do—the boss's policy." _

_Law caught the slip-up but didn't press too much in it. "Why?" he questioned instead. Mr. Red face-palmed himself, clearly agitated in how much time he's wasted with the man. "This casino that we're standing in front of his a family owned business; privately owned family business, actually. You're already breaking a policy by trespassing on private property." _

"_Behehe, yeah! To even get in this place, you gotta have an invitation, and I don't think you even have one!" _

"_Just to get a job?" The incredulity in Law's voice made Mr. Red's smile grow larger. "Now, you see your problem? Not only are you kid, but you don't even have an invitation. So get lost, we got business to att—" _

"_What do I have to do in order to get a job here? Please, tell me—I really need this job." _

_Law expected the two to resort to physical violence, but it was only Trebol that had gotten up and advanced towards him. Mr. Red stuck his arm out to restrain the man, earning him a cold glare from his long and black-haired partner. "Diamante—" _

"_Shut up, Trebol." Mr. Red, his real name being Diamante, got up instead and walked over towards the raven-haired student. Law kept his cool, despite how looming the other figure was, and remained having a passive expression on his otherwise pleading face. _

_Diamante gave him a thorough look over, eyeing his expression more than anything. "You got guts kid, and that's a good thing to have in the world. Tell me, what's your name?" _

"_Trafalgar Law." _

"_Law, eh? Okay Law, I'll give you one more shot; tell me why you want to work at The Royal House. And don't give me no 'it's-personal' bullshit, either." _

_Law sighed; he did not want to resort giving out his personal business to men he didn't even know. Then again, if he were to ever work here, they would all know his personal business. So he might as well get used to it, right? "I don't want my family to be in debt; they're bordering as is, and my father lives alone with my sister. We're not broke or anything but… I just don't want them to lose the house and all because of me," _

_After he delivered the story, Law looked up. He expected to see a scornful smile on Diamante's face and was surprised when he saw a thoughtful one instead. The tall man walked back to his seat next to Trebol, who looked at him with wonder. "Well, you heard it right Trebol? What do you suggest—we let him in or not?" _

'_Might as well go home..' Law prepared himself to be turned down. A small chuckle slipped out of Trebol's lips. "Beheh, well, I suggest…" Interrupting his sentence was the sudden opening of the door. With this opportunity opening up, Law was able to peer inside the family-owned casino; his eyes and mouth widened in amazement. _

_Gold of different shades illuminated the area. People dressed in elegant suits and dresses walked around, some in pairs and others in groups. The golden light that spilled between the two men seemed to light up the darkness of the night, and Law found himself staring at it in more amazement than anything else. _

_Another figure blocked his view of the magnificence. Law's attention was then diverted to a man roughly shorter than Diamante, yet taller than himself. He wore black slacks and a white dress shirt with a red tie checkered with black hearts, and a coat made of black feathers rested on his shoulders. Both Diamante and Trebol turned around to see who the man was, and a smile panned on both of their faces in unison. "Corazon! What are you doing out here, shouldn't you be inside with Boss?" _

_The man said nothing. Diamante chuckled as if he understood exactly what the man said. "If you're wondering what's taking us so long, we were just getting done accepting this rookie into the business. Can you do us the honors of touring him around the place and getting to know the others?" _

_Law's excitement was shown through the beaming of his luminous yellow eyes. Yet, that excitement abruptly ended when Corazon sharply turned his attention to him. The man wore black shades that concealed his eyes and had blonde hair that flowed past his ears in wavy rivulets. Lips painted in red were depicted through the night and was presented through a chilling smile. "Yep, that's him. The rookie that calls himself… Trafalgar Law, right? Meet Corazon, one of the co-founders of The Royal House." _

_As Corazon started advancing towards him, Law stuck his hand out for a formal handshake. "Hi, nice to meet you Cora—" _

_Instead of getting a formal handshake, Law felt a fist crack against the left side of his cheek. The punch took him completely by surprise and he was instantly sent hurtling to the ground. An even sharper pain contacted his hip, sending shockwaves of agony coursing throughout Law's lower midriff. Behind Corazon, Diamante and Trebol broke out into laughter. "Oh, ahem—I should mention something now that you're going to work underneath us. Corazon here is an executive and, like I said before, co-founder of The Royal House. He's also Doffy's little brother; that's the boss. You might as well know his name now._

_For some odd reason, he hates seeing rookies join. Can't really figure out why, since the dumb bastard can't speak and all. Oh well," Diamante shrugged and got up. Before proceeding inside, he turned back to Law, who was still groaning on the sidewalk. "When you're done rolling around in your own blood, get up so we can start you off on the job." _

His hand tentatively rose up to where his fingers brushed against the yellowish-gray bruise. It's been a week since Corazon had punched him, and he hasn't seen the crazy bastard since. _Good—I'd rather keep it that way. _Law lowered his hand and went back to watching the lively people within The Royal House.

Several minutes had gone by and a high-pitched voice jolted Law from his staring. He turned to the only woman that could produce such a volume and rolled his eyes; a woman roughly around his age came rushing towards him, her black curls bouncing all over the place. She wore a black mini-dress with a white vest and black bow tie around her neck. "There you are, lazing around as usual! And to think that you really wanted this job,"

"There's not a single order coming in Baby 5, so calm your tits." Ironically enough, the black haired woman was wearing a revealing outfit. She narrowed her darkly hued eyes before a large smile folded across her lips. "You think you're so funny and clever Mr. Good-Looking. You should be working, not sitting around staring at people."

"I'm guessing you're as deaf as you are loud. Can't you see that there's not a single order—"

Law's sentence got cut off by the sudden appearance of a white slip. The woman that delivered it pointed towards a raucous poker table. "Table 9 wants five glasses of vodka. The usual, he calls it. Get it ready."

Law could hear the smile growing wider on Baby 5's lips as he trashed the white slip of paper. Reaching for the wine bottles behind him, Law popped several of the corks off and began pouring them into the mixer, where he later added ice and a few ounces of salt. "Wow, you haven't worked at the bar for a week and your skills at making drinks are better than those who've been in this business for years. How come?"

"I've worked in situations like these before; setting aside medical equipment for emergencies requires speed and precision. This is nothing compared to that." To demonstrate, Law shook the mixer with one hand while reaching for five glasses in the other. Baby 5 awed out how he held the glasses; each was balanced in the spaces of the fingers with two of them being held in the last.

Law set the glasses down and poured the pale liquid into each of them before carefully assembling them onto a round steel plate. "You're a natural at this; you sure you didn't work at some bar when you were young?"

"Drinks aren't my thing."

Law grabbed the plate by the edge and slid it onto his opened palm. Before he was able to leave the bar counter, Baby 5 grabbed him from the back. "Whoa—what do you want, Baby 5?"

"You're about to deliver drinks to a certain man at table 9—trust me, I know. You're looking a little disheveled at the moment, so just sit tight for a bit and let me fix you up."

By her definition of disheveled, Law's bow tie was a bit uneven. His white dress shirt had its cuffs slightly wrinkled, and his vest had a few hairs from passing by other workers in the back. Baby 5 patted down the rough spots and straightened out the cuffs, then gave the man thumbs up. "Alright, you're presentable. You'll thank me later when you realize who I'm talking about."

Law rolled his eyes and exited the bar counter. _That was just an excuse for her to touch me, _he told himself while wounding his way through crowded tables. He followed the sound of a ringing bell until he came upon it, where he played a casual smirk on his lips. "Got your order here, sir—the usual for five, correct?"

The table in which Law stopped by had at least ten all around. At the end of one of the tables was a man dressed in red with freakishly long arms. His hair was pulled back into a long braid down behind him, which swung to and fro with dismay. On the other end, where Law stood, was a man with a short height on him. He wore all black with a dark red tie and a black fedora slightly tilted in front of his eyes. Smoke blew out from his lips in great puffs before the man broke into a ridiculous laughter. "Hehehe, looks like you lose again Scratch! Can't you see that you have no chance against me, a pro player in roulette?"

A woman seated towards the middle held up her hand to stop the other from retorting. "Alright you boys, place in your bets!"

"Red!" The man with the abnormally long arms screamed. The other man rolled his eyes and chuckled. "Then I bet black."

The spectators seated at the table started pouring in the bets as well, until the woman held up her hand. "That's enough, no more bets!" She took a small silver ball and tossed it into a mahogany –carved wheel, where it began spinning round and round in an almost dizzying maneuver. Both men rose up out of their seats to see where the ball would land, secretly wishing the color on which it would land. The other spectators murmured against one another and watched too, as this would declare who gets the fifty-million dollar prize.

After what felt like an eternity of waiting, the ball finally slowed down and fell into the black and red slots. Silence overtook the table, then shouts of surprise and jubilation when the ball had landed on the black. The man dressed in black burst into laughter as he pulled in the others chips. "Hahahah, and you thought you could best me? You lose Scratch—you ain't ever gonna beat the king poker himself! Where the hell's my drink? Winning all of this money's made me thirsty.."

The man turned to his left to see Law standing behind him, watching the winning streak in shock. Law focused his attention back onto his task and settled the plate down on the table. "Wow, that was pretty awesome. You won fifty-million just like that!"

"Heh, I know kid. You can't possibly understand what it feels like to become a millionaire in a night." The man in black took his drink and sipped it. The others at the table took theirs as well, congratulating him on his apparent fifth winning streak. Before Law turned to leave, he stayed to see the ball getting ready to go again. "Would you like anything else, sir? Perhaps something to snack on while you gain another million?"

The man in black snickered at the witty remark. "As a matter of fact, I would like something to eat. Two pounds of hardboiled peanuts; this guy's nuts aren't the only things I want to crush."

Hearing that, the other dressed in red scowled. Law chuckled and hurried back to the bar with to make his order. "I need two pounds of peanuts, hardboiled for table 8!"

"_Two pounds of hardboiled peanuts coming right up!" _

As promised, a metal bowl came out from the kitchen and was handed to Law. He headed back to the roulette table, just in time to see the other man flip his chair and storm off. _"Fuck you and this game! You probably cheated anyway," _The other man could do nothing but laugh at the sore loser. Just as his order came in, he stuck his hand in the bowl and peeled apart the shell. "Punk thought he would beat me. Hah, never in a million years!"

Law headed back to the bar, Baby 5 still hanging around there. She gave the raven-haired male a large smirk, as if waiting for him to say something. "What? Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Oh come on, did you even realize who you were talking too?"

Law looked back to where he just left; the male was still sitting around and nibbling on the peanuts, but this time he was engrossed in a conversation with a black haired female. Law shrugged and turned back to Baby 5. "Beats me. What, is he someone big in New York?"

"That's Capone Bege, the nation's king of poker! He runs a family similar to ours in Brooklyn, and has connections all the way to Chicago. You mean to tell me you didn't know who he was?"

Law glanced back at the man named Capone Bege. He looked like a figure in modern society, with his elegant way of dressing and the way in which he presents himself. "No, I didn't. How do you know so much about him?"

"He's allied to us; he and Young Master are like, best friends in the gang business."

Law rolled his eyes once more at Baby 5 and went to sit back and settle down. That day in which he started working at The Royal House, Diamante had told him he would be an official member of the Don-Quixote Family. It still came as a shock that he was even doing this, and to hear words like 'gangs', 'business', and the like fly out of the mouths of half the workers made him cringe. "You're sitting around again, Law."

"Because there's not an order being placed—"

Commotion erupted in the kitchen before Law could finish his sentence. Both he and Baby 5 turned around in unison to see a blonde haired boy emerge from the doors, wearing black slacks and a white dress shirt with white apron wrapped around him. His blonde hair was just as frantic as his eyes, which bore excitement matching a child's on Christmas. "Jora just called; she says they're on their way. She also said we'd better get the food and drinks ready, or Young Master will be pissed."

"Who's on their way?" Law questioned, turning to Baby 5 for an answer. Instead, she nodded at the blonde haired teen, who then raced back into the kitchen. She then turned to Law and started giving out commands. "Wait wait wait! What in the hell's going on?"

"The executives, stupid! The executives are on their way back, and we need to get their food and drinks ready. Now hurry up and start making them!"

"Wait, what do I—"

Baby 5 rushed to the kitchen, possibly to bark out more orders. Law was left in a state of utter confusion at the hurried answer he received; deep within him, a tingling sensation bubbled up.

He was going to meet the executives of the Don Quixote Family.


	2. The Executives

The amount of love I'm receiving for this story is amazing. Seriously guys, its amazing, and I really appreciate that. Anyways, here's Chapter 2, and I hope you enjoy it like the first ^^.  
>Added Note: If you're wondering about the poker part at the end, yes; I have little idea on how Texas Hold 'Em actually goes, and I'm just going off of what I saw on YouTube videos and instructions on the web. Hopefully I haven't butchered it to where you guys'll hate me for it. v.v As usual, I'll be going through and checking for simple spelling errors and whatnot (I re-read this thing like five times already, so I should be good.)<br>Enjoy!

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><p><strong>Chapter 2.<strong>

**The Executives**

**L**aw started concocting drinks of all sorts. Vodka, whiskey, rum, and a variety of wines were poured one after another into the mixer and glasses.

The kitchen behind him was in an uproar. Pots clanged against one another on stoves with shouts of different pitches being thrown one after another. It matched the frenzy inside the male's head, yet the people in the casino were completely unaffected by it. _How can they stay so calm when all of this is going on? _

_Must be used to it. _Law shrugged and started pouring another bottle of vodka into other glasses, unaware of how many he should even be making, when a shout caught him. _"Just what the hell are you making?!" _The voice was so sudden that it made the bottle, previously clutched in Law's sure hands, sputter alcohol over the smooth black countertop and onto his black vest.

Law turned his head, expecting to see a manager or the head chef, but was slightly relieved when it was just a mere chef. He wore the typical white-chef uniform with black shoes, and his curly brown hair was kept back into a ponytail with wavy bangs framing his rounded face.

The man's light blue eyes quickly scanned Law's face before softening, and the other could see tension relaxing from his shoulders. "I forgot—you're the rookie bartender. 'Course you wouldn't know what to make…"

"What to make..? There's a specific drink to make?" Law questioned as he took a dishtowel and began drying off the counter and his vest. The chef sighed once more while stepping beside Law. He took all of the glasses and dumped them into the sink in a quick session. "Yes there is. In fact, it's the only beverage they'll drink, and if you screw it up, you die—simple as that. _Especially _a rookie like you."

_I don't think they'll kill me… _Law told himself as he watched the chef pull out eight acrylic wine glasses. Once he had set those onto the black countertop, he turned towards the large wine bottle and glass cabinet and retrieved a yellowed-paper recipe. The chef smoothed out the paper against his chest and then handed over to Law, who scanned the text quickly. "This is what you make. _Boisson royale; _the—"

"Royal drink, I know." Law scanned over the text once again. "This calls for rye whiskey, dry and sweet ver—"

"You do realize who you're making these drinks for, right?" Law noticed a playful smirk fold across the chef's lips when he glanced at him. "They're the executives and officers of the Don-Quixote Family, remember? They can handle just about anything."

After a light jab in the ribs with his elbow the chef was off, and Law started pulling out bottles of whiskey and vermouth. He turned to the wine and glass cabinet to retrieve a mixing glass and placed it next to the bottled ingredients. Grabbing the whiskey first, he poured the light caramel hued liquid into the glass and the dry vermouth, then went ahead and added the sweet type. Without regarding the recipe he ended up adding half an ounce more of the sweet vermouth and began stirring the liquid until it turned an almost burgundy color.

Law glanced at the recipe out of the corner of his eye as he poured the drink equally into the glasses. _"Add a Maraschino cherry…" _Once he finished pouring the drinks, he strolled to the edge of the bar and retrieved a bag of plump red cherries.

For the final touch Law dunked one in each of the glasses and placed them onto a metal serving plate. With the drinks finished, Law waited for his next set of instructions. No one had come out of the kitchen to revisit him and he couldn't possibly figure out when the executives and officers would show up, so as a small game to help speed up time he began wondering what they were like.

_Are they as mean as that man made him out to be? Would they really kill me if I messed up even one of their drinks? If I remember correctly, Diamante and Trebol were executives, and they weren't TOO bad. Just mouthy, and laughed at everything. _

_And Corazon. How can an idiot like him be an executive? Can that idiot even speak? Is he mute? Maybe a selective mute. What was with all that makeup? Pretty foolish to be an executive of a gang. Then again, I don't know how gangs are supposed to be._

A secondshout silenced his reeling mind of theories. This time it was feminine, and Law knew it was Baby 5 coming to curse him out once more. "Are they ready yet, Law? I thought you could make drinks in lightning fast—Oh."

His predictions correct, Baby 5 appeared from the kitchen double doors. He grabbed the serving plate of glasses and carefully made his way towards the black-haired woman who was searching amongst the crowd of well-dressed people. "I would have made them faster if you told me what to make. Are they here yet?" Law's stomach started feeling jittery again.

Baby 5 nodded curtly. "Yeah, they just came in. Now this is your first time meeting them, and it's their first time meeting you. None of them know who you are, so if you were smart you would be respectful and refrain from making any smart-ass remarks." Law nodded briskly. "Now, when you're addressing the leader in case he talks to you, it's best to—"

"Just point me to where they're sitting, Baby 5."

She was appalled at how quickly Law cut her off, but a tiny smile perked at the corner of her red-tinted lips. Baby 5 gave him a quick look over just like she did with Capone, then pointed towards the entrance of the casino. "See where the dining area actually begins? That's where they're seated at. It's the largest round table in that area. If you end up getting lost, that big chandelier hanging above them should provide enough light for you to see, though I doubt you'll actually get lost."

The sarcastic joke had Law rolling his eyes. He stepped outside of the bar and sauntered confidently towards the table. The closer he got to the round table, the more movement around that area increased, and the excitement bubbling inside him seemed uncontrollable to tame. Baby 5 had been right about the chandelier; its millions rays of light seemed to burn at an unimaginable rate.

Law had reached the first table of the dining area when the full view of the group came into place. There were nine of them in total, all of them sitting at a round table carved from fine mahogany. They all wore suits tailored to their personal preferences in dark solids and flamboyant neon. The brightest belonged to the center of the table, with his outlandish pink feathered coat hanging on his shoulders.

He lifted his head up and stared Law straight in the eyes. The man had short blonde hair spiked up in the front with curved, pink-lensed shades resting on his face. He wore a dark red dress shirt with a light pink tie etched in an even lighter shade of pink.

The large smile that was once on his face faltered into a line and his left eyebrow curved above his hidden eye. Law swallowed down his nervous excitement and resumed his confident saunter until he reached the round table. _"La boisson royale, les hommes._"

"_He's French?" _came a muttered reply from the other side of the table. Law smirked faintly while setting the drinks in the middle of the table. The smooth maroon tablecloth felt velvety against his sensitive skin, and Law started to wonder where they had the money to pay for it. _Stolen money I bet, _he thought coolly.

Law took a step back so the men could reach for their drinks. _"Jouir." _He said with a slight bow, and started walking off. "Hold it." A commanding voice made his legs freeze in mid-step. Law turned back around and faced the spiky blonde male whose glass lazily dangled in his hand. _"Oui?" _

"Where'd you get that bruise from?"

Law's hand instantly went to his cheek to brush upon the faintly tender area. Beside the spiky blonde, Diamante and Trebol broke into a fit of snickers. "_Beheheee—_I would have thought you'd leave by now, Law. What made you stay? Corazon didn't enforce the rules enough for you?"

"That's not the real question. The _real _question is how the hell you're working at the bar. I never said you could move up,"

The raven-haired male snorted quietly. "Regardless of where he's supposed to be working at, or how he's supposed to be working, he makes a damn good Manhattan Perfect. Little sweet, but we're all human right?"

This remark was from a male on the other side of Trebol. He wore a black mafia suit with a matching hat and white cravat. Just like the blonde male, he too wore shades that covered his eyes, and his black hair was smoothed and gelled to the back of his head. "I definitely agree, Senor. Could be a tad bitter."

A man on the other side of Senor took another long sip of his drink, then placed it down on a provided coaster. He, unlike the others, had a very steampunk-ish outfit going on; he wore a black coat partially zipped up with golden rings going across his elbows and shoulders. A light cream shirt was worn underneath the black coat, and was connected to a matching colored mask that covered up the man's mouth. On top of his head was a black boiler hat with golden rings around the base; spilling underneath was his hair, light gray in color.

The man, judging from his voice, was probably around his mid-twenties. Law was intrigued at how odd he dressed and compared the others beside him.

A male that swamped the height of both Steampunk and Se or sat on the other side of the round table. His figure was laden with muscles, more prominent in his arms, and he wore a black suit with a dark maroon cravat tucked in the front. Atop his head of wavy blonde hair was a red peaked cap with a golden smiley on the front. Similar to the other men, he wore black aviators that covered up his eyes. A woman older than Law sat next to him, carefully sipping her drink while eyeing Law through a teasing, slightly coquettish gaze.

_She must be Jora, the one Dellinger was talking about. _

Law quickly turned his gaze away from the woman, catching a fleeting gaze of her short black and red dress and mink-furred coat.

The large man turned to Law and gave him the tiniest of grins he had ever seen. "You made this-_innn? _Is Baby 5 not working at the bar anymore?"

Before he could answer, another masculine voice interrupted him. "That might be the reason why he's working at the bar now—you know how that child gets sometime."

It came from a man who looked like he could be Law's grandfather. He wore an extremely lavish blue suit with an obsidian colored dress shirt underneath and had on a matching colored hat to hide his bald head. Sitting beside the old man was an even larger male, bigger than the previous one tenfold. Diamante and Trebol took their seat beside the spikey blonde man, and a dreaded face took up the other side. Law was standing before the motley of all motley crews.

"You never answered my question, brat—where'd that bruise come from?"

He was recognized by the man once more. Law removed his hand from his cheek and shoved it into his pocket instead. "Small mistake in the kitchen," he replied with a casual shrug. Diamante and Trebol snickered once more.

"Really now? A brat like you has no place to lie to me, so speak truthfully. Lying to the world gets you killed."

The man took his glass and raised it to his mouth. The dark burgundy liquid slid in between his lips and down his throat, taking the flavor along with it. Law expected the man to spit it out and chuck the glass at his face, but such event never happened.

The other's expression changed from dark to bemused and then to satisfied as he took a sip once more. "Well, a little too sweet, but it'll definitely do. What's your name?"

"Calls himself Law. 'Parently, he's French—that's something new."

"Law, eh…?" The name rolled across the other male's tongue smoothly, making Law's knees buckle. The feeling was abnormal to him but decided to question it later. With nothing being said after that, he started to turn around and head back for the bar.

Scuffling brought his attention back to the table, and a dreaded face had started to take action. Law was unable to react as Corazon spat the alcoholic drink all over his face and vest. The blonde male resumed his dark violet smile, even after the impish act he had committed, and seemed unaffected with the glowering eyes from the other. "What the hell was that for!?"

Corazon didn't reply but grew his smile, which pissed Law off even more. The male wasn't naturally made to fight or throw the first punch, but childish things such as this easily set him off into committing heinous acts to others. He took a step forward, but an unseen force made him stop. When he glanced around Corazon, the answer became clear.

They were all ready to jump onto him in defense of the other, who still hadn't wiped the smirk off of his face. Law's lips twitched before they pursed into a small sigh, and he fell back again. The others, still tensed, watched him. "Smart move kid—you don't want to die before you marry, right?"

Law muttered a few incoherent words in French while wiping off his soiled vest and face. The alcohol tasted bitter after being shot out of the man's mouth. He started to turn for the bar, but a lethally smooth voice halted him from making a full 180. "Law, was it? I want you to know something before you walk back off to the bar."

It was the blonde haired male, whom Law guessed was the head executive. The pink feathers of his large coat ruffled as he straightened himself in his chair, and he interlocked his fingers underneath his chin. Law was frozen in the man's hidden stare; he could see how his shadow shuddered in the pink lenses.

"These men are my family—my true family. Though, I am confident in their abilities to give you an ass-whooping if you ever set them off. But Corazon is my dear, sweet little brother. You mess with him, and I'll personally bring death upon you."

The veins within his hands and forehead suddenly bulged and a smile stretched across his face. "There's a rule you'd best familiarize yourself with, kid—and you better memorize it quick, because I'll only say it once. Don't fuck with my brother. And don't you _ever _try to fuck with me."

Fear mingled with more weakening made Law stumble back. It also made the alcohol floating on his tongue suddenly turn sweet. Unable to speak, he merely nodded. "Now get the hell out of my face—and tell those damn cooks to bring out the food. We're starving."

Law didn't need to be told twice; he turned the moment he had the chance and started hustling back towards the bar. During the rush, he forgot about the serving plate, which was now in the hands of Corazon.

**I**diot! You didn't hear a damn thing I said about addressing Young Master and the others did you?"

Baby 5 was yelling into Law's ears the moment he returned from serving other tables. The fear he felt before was gone and replaced with annoyance towards the woman, but he said nothing; his mind was on other things.

Like how weak he felt at the lead executive's—

"Law, listen to me! Are you purposely ignoring me to piss me off too?"

"I am purposely annoying you, and you're pissing _me _off. The thing's over and done with, so get over it."

Impulses to choke the man took over Baby 5's hands, but she was able to keep them at her side. With a forced sigh she leaned against the counter next to Law and watched people at the different poker tables and dining areas.

Law, on the other hand, was staring back at the round table, which seemed a whole lot closer to the bar than it was before. "Who's the Young Master?" he asked casually. The question came out through a heavy sigh.

"That's what Doflamingo likes us to address him by. He's the leader of the Don Quixote Family, founder of The Royal House, and controls a great deal of New York."

"That important, huh… Does he have a brother, or is that how he claims those in his group? "

"No, he really has a brother. His name's Corazon—he may be an idiot, but he's got some royal blood running through his veins. And he's pretty tough. I guess it runs in their genes, right alongside their attractiveness."

_I'll say. _Law's eyes brightened in color at the subconscious thought. Luckily, he kept that bit to himself. But Baby 5 noticed the expression and her brows creased in curiosity.

"That wasn't smart what you did. You could have seriously been killed y'know, and they don't mind killing."

"That idiot shouldn't have spit his drink out all over me; there are other ways to let someone know you don't like the flavor."

The black vest that was once on Law's lean body had been removed and left on the back of a barstool to dry and the man stood with just his dress shirt on.

Baby 5 shrugged. "He has autism spectrum disorder or something. ASD, I think one of our doctors called it."

Law glanced at her through his side-view before locking his eyes back onto the round table. _Maybe that explains why he's mute. Perhaps he's still learning how to speak and uses actions as a way of communication. _

Baby 5's attention turned to the opening of the kitchen doors, where two waiters armed with food started hurrying off to Doflamingo's table. She glanced back at the dining and poker area, where murmured assent was rising. "There's Capone, off to best against the Young Master for the fifth time this week."

She pointed to the short man Law served before who was making his way towards the round table. Curious, Law followed the man's trail. "I'm guessing Doflamingo is some sort of prodigy when it comes to poker?"

"Only the best. He's undefeated in the state of New York. Capone challenges every chance he gets, and loses. Really, he should feel tired of getting his ass handed to him each time—he should be lucky Young Master doesn't charge him, or he'd be broke." Baby 5 snickered at her own joke.

Doflamingo started to intrigue Law as well as turn his stomach into iced lead. He watched as the two men spoke with smiles on their faces before Capone lead the other to an empty poker table. The rest of the executives followed in suit, taking their drinks along with them, and pulled up seats to a decent sized table directly in front of the bar.

Law had a front view of the blonde haired man and took in every feature shown on him; from the gleaming smile resting on his smooth lips, the way his hands took in the acrylic glass, and how those same pairs of lips pressed gently upon the rim and swallowed in the sweet burgundy liquid.

Dirty thoughts careened inside of Law's head. They fueled blood and rushed through every part of the male's body, making his legs weak and shoulders shudder. Tightness down in his groin area erupted and had caught him off guard, only getting worse the more he stared at the spiked blonde-haired male. _Damn, how is a man making me feel this way? I can't be gay… there's no way in hell I can be gay. _

_For a gang executive!? _But the denial only made it hurt more.

Senor had taken up his place in the center, and from what Law guessed he was going to do the same job as the woman at Capone's table. Cards and chips were handed out to the players, and the poker game was set. "They're playing Texas Hold 'Em—the Young Master's favorite." Baby 5 whispered excitedly.

Law was unfamiliar to this version of poker, but he paid attention nonetheless. Nothing was said in between the four players, but their lips were definitely moving. A wide grin broke across Doflamingo's lips, and just as quickly as the man started playing he grabbed a handful of chips from another's pile. _"C'mon Gladius, you're way better than that!" _

Law was paying more attention to the leader rather than the male who wore the golden mechanical boiler hat. Gladius appeared to still be in the game and his composure was still strong, but Law depicted a falter from when he first started. Doflamingo had raised his cards behind his hand, and another wide grin fell upon his lips. The smile set Law off, but not in a fearful way. "He grins like he's won already."

"He probably gotta good hand. You're not really supposed to show any emotion other than a smirk at poker, but that's how Doflamingo works; he puts others off so they lose their cool, then he takes them out one by one. Not just in poker, but in everything."

Law shuddered lightly. The game hadn't started in less than five minutes and Doflamingo seemed to own the table. Their lips continued to move as more words silently flowed out. The leader took one last look at his cards, glanced up, and mouthed a word. The others at the table tensed but did little more, until Capone mouthed a word and gave a fleeting stare to Doflamingo.

This passage of mouthing and fleeting stares went on until Gladius threw his hands up and stepped away from the table. "Damn, taken out like that. Diamante is the only one left—think he's gonna win against Young Master and Capone?"

How could someone new to the concept of poker even guess an answer like that? Law shrugged and resuming staring at Doflamingo, whose shaded eyes bore into Diamante's. The man dressed in black was unaffected by the look and mouthed another word, then took a daring glance at Doflamingo.

Whatever he mouthed turned the spiky blonde male's smile into a faltering one, and Diamante leaned over to swipe a few chips from the pile in front. Law chuckled despite not knowing how critical the loss actually was. "Diamante, you sly dog—that was a pretty brave move you made."

The fact that Baby 5 was picking up on all of this slightly annoyed Law. He wanted to hear the exact words the men were saying, and after seeing Capone's fleeting win against the man in red, he wanted to see if the shorter man had a chance. "I'm getting closer," he replied and started putting together the Manhattan Perfect for the table.

Baby 5 watched, a small smirk folding on her lips. "Wanna get close to the action?"

"I just want to see and hear what's going on."

With the alcoholic beverages made, Law maneuvered his way to the table. When he arrived, Gladius and Senor acknowledged him with a slight nod and reached over for a glass. "_Gracias, _kid." Law placed the others onto the left-hand side of the men.

When he got to Doflamingo, Law dared a peak at his set. He had four tall rows of poker chips aligned neatly and organized in matching colors, and was currently flipping two of them against the velvety green surface of the table. He only had two cards serving as his deck, making Law quirk an eyebrow.

_I thought it was supposed to be four. _Doflamingo noticed the raven-haired man behind him and cocked his head at an angle. "It would be wise for you to back away from me, Law."

The voice was lethal like poison and smooth like velvet at the same time. It had Law craving for more. He did as told and stepped to where Vise and Jora was, who didn't mind the man being there. Law turned his attention back to the table, and now that he was closer he was able to hear exactly what was being said.

"Looking nervous my friend?"

Doflamingo raised his hidden eyes to Capone as he took some striped red and green chips from his pile and casually tossed them to Senor. Capone lightly snorted while checking his two cards, then returned the stare to the other. "Not as nervous as you think, _friend._" Law watched as Se or took the chips and placed a fourth card to a line of three.

Looking around, he noticed Doflamingo's smile widen and a chuckle slip out. _Does that mean he's got a matching card or something? _The man checked his cards as if he heard the question with the smile still stuck on his face. Capone and Diamante took a glance at there's, then Diamante spoke. "Folding."

Capone took this as a chance and tossed a few more chips to Senor. Doflamingo watched him and repeated Diamante's word, getting a harsh glare thrown at him from Capone. He chuckled lightly as he took a sip of his drink and, out of the corner of his eye, nodded to Law. The male's lips perked at the corners in a faint smile, but he resumed staring at the game.

Texas Hold 'Em went on for another forty-five minutes or so, with people from different poker and dining tables coming in to watch the event. Law had stayed as well, leaving the tending to other tables up to Baby 5 and the others; he was too engrossed into the game to leave.

Diamante had been beaten out of his own chips by Doflamingo, though he claimed to "let the man win since this wasn't his most favorite game." Now, it was a fierce battle between Doflamingo and Capone, and as Senor laid out the fifth and final card, a collected gasp shot through every spectator surrounding the table.

"_An ace. It's an ace!" _

"_The mighty river's been revealed—who's got the best hand between the two?" _

"_C'mon Capone, you got this!" _

Terms unfamiliar to Law and inspirational lines surrounded the table. Doflamingo, taking one last look at his two cards, gave Capone a genuine-appearing smile. "This has been quite a quick game, hasn't it Capone?"

The other nodded slowly. "Yes, it has…"

"Wasn't really into it in the beginning, but I just can't say no to a challenge."

Capone took his eyes away from the table to stare at Doflamingo. Was this his way of admitting defeat? Law could see the excitement rim the other's eyes, though it was kept at bay. Turning back to Senor, Doflamingo took a few more chips and slung it towards the male. "All in," he declared, and sat back.

Capone threw in some more chips and declared the same as well. "All in."

Senor took the chips, and both men flipped their cards to be viewed by the spectators. Another gasp shot through them, with a hysterical booming laugh peaking at the top.


	3. La Muchacha Del Baile

Thank you guys so much for reading and commenting on this story. ^^ I never would have thought it would be that enjoyable.  
>I made a few simple mistakes here and there regarding the French phrases in this story as picked up by a reviewer, so I'm going to try to keep that at a minimum. I think I did okay with this, but who knows. Anyways, enjoy!<p>

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><p><strong>Chapter 3.<br>La Muchacha Del Baile **

**D**oflamingo's hysterical laughter resonated off the carpeted surface of the poker table and filled the ears of the spectators that stood around it. Law, having watched the whole game, could only stare, stunned at the phenomenal loss of Capone Bege.

_He lost… He actually lost._

The news registered slowly in the other male's head as he stared at the line of five cards in front of Senor. The plump cigar, once in between sure and smirking lips, was now resting upon the green covered table with smoke slowly leaving its end.

Doflamingo's laughter still hadn't ceased as he found it entertaining to see the other man register his loss. "Looks like you lose again, friend. What's the score this time, 7-0?" Doflamingo looked over to his left—his shaded eyes met with Senor who happened to be shuffling the cards for possibly another game.

The black-haired male nodded solemnly. Capone gritted his teeth and pursed his lips, then released his annoyed anger through a slow, drawn out sigh. "Guess I simply have to get better, amarite?" The shorter male reached over for his glass and neglected cigar. With a wide smile stretched onto his lips, Doflamingo raised his to meet with the other.

The two clanked their glasses together, but Law noticed something different about the way Capone stared at Doflamingo. While the blonde grinned and sipped away at his drink, Capone's eyes narrowed darkly with a matching grim look spreading across his expression. It faded into a casual smirk once Doflamingo stared back at him. "You find this funny? Heh, didn't think our game would be _that _amusing."

"Oh, were you serious about this? I apologize—I never intended on making it a light joke. You'll have to excuse my behavior, but it's just been so long since we've played one another."

"It has been awhile, hasn't it?"

Capone plucked out the thick brown cigar from between his lips and flicked off a few pieces of ash into the provided ashtray. Placing it back into his mouth, he returned his attention to the blonde, who still happened to be emptying his glass. _"This will be my sixth time losing to you out of the last few weeks…" _

"Come again?"

Capone eyed Doflamingo from underneath the rim of his fedora. His shoulders lifted in a casual shrug; however, his eyes read something much darker. "You have always beaten me at every poker game imaginable, and despite all of that you get nothing in return."

"If I took my prize from you, then your record as being the nation's king of poker would be ruined, right?"

To Law as he gathered empty wine glasses from the table, tension could be felt. He gazed at Capone through his peripherals and was surprised to see a darker, almost sinister look take over his eyes. "That's one thing I'm grateful for."

"Exactly—and to be honest, a poker game will be nothing more than a game between us. Something fun and enjoyable for everyone to view—"

"_And worthless._"

"Come again?"

Capone raised his hand, as if to dismiss the slight slip up he had made. A small smile spread across his lips, bending the thick cigar at in angular direction. "It was nothing. Can we try for another game? This time placing a prize on it?"

The blonde leader placed his empty wine glass to the side and regarded Capone through a steely stare. Law was unable to read the other's expression, but he was positive it held an assertiveness matched to that of a general leader; one that used actions instead of words to get what he wanted.

Doflamingo shook his head after the momentary silence. "Not tonight I'm afraid. As tempting as it is to play against an old friend and ally, I'm slightly worn. Besides, don't you have a business to get back to?"

Capone narrowed his light brown eyes into stone slits before they softened up behind a tiny smile. "Mm, you're right, actually. Brooklyn is probably in disarray now that I've been gone for three hours."

Flicking the last remaining ashes into the ashtray, Capone pushed himself from the poker table. He gave a courteous nod to Doflamingo, who returned it with a slowly-creeping smirk. Law found his subconscious shaking at the expression implanted on his lips. _God, he's so hot… _

"Let's go, men. Our vacation here is done. I'll be seeing you around, Doflamingo—perhaps we'll get to play a more entertaining poker game."

"Perhaps,"

Several men dressed in mafia suits of different colors got up from the poker table at once and followed Capone out of the building. Doflamingo watched them leave, a casual smirk playing on his lips. Law turned to see them leave as well. He couldn't help but feeling _off _at the way they walked out of the place.

A dark feeling seemed to linger above their shoulders and remain around the poker table even as they exited The Royal House. Law thought nothing of it, assuring himself that it was his mind still being scared at the fact that he was surrounded by leaders and executives of top-notch gangs.

Gathering up the metallic serving plate of empty wine glasses, he turned for the bar. "Come here, Law."

Law's attention focused on Doflamingo. "Yes—"

"Handle this." The wine glass landed on the center of the tray. Another glass followed, dark purple lipstick staining the rim. Law saw Doflamingo's hand fall back to his side, where two rings crafted from what looked like 24-karat gold wrapped around his fore and ring finger.

It was the same for Corazon as well, with a golden Rolex to match. _Probably stole them, _Law thought wryly as he took in the luxuriously crafted pieces. The rings on both of their forefingers looked like wedding rings. Etched inside of the gold were intricate pattern of lines swerving within one another.

Small diamonds were added to the line-pattern and reflecting off the lights in the casino. On their ring fingers, the gold was accented with a large diamond in the center and two smaller ones on the side.

Even though they may have stolen it—and to Law they probably did—he couldn't take his eyes away from the shimmering jewelry. Law forced himself to look into Doflamingo's pink-lensed eyes and swallowed shallowly as a lump commenced. "Refill or…?"

Doflamingo swiveled his attention to Corazon and lightly pinched his arm as the other blonde was busy staring off into space. "Would you like a refill or something else?"

Corazon seemed to overlook Law with his black shades covering his eyes. Weird, uncomfortable feelings started to arouse in the pit of Law's stomach as he waited for an answer—any answer, for the male to give him. _"Eh bien?" _

"Two Long Island Iced Teas, with extra lemon for me."

Law nodded and returned for the bar. With his back turned on the two, he was unable to see Corazon lurch to his feet and step towards him. The blonde man seemed to have a change of mind and attempted to grab the other's attention, but failed in doing so. Instead, he caused himself great embarrassment and tripped over the leg of his own chair, face-planting the red velvet floor beneath him.

"_Shit! Are you okay, Corazon?" _

Law whipped his head around to see Senor and Vise assisting aid to a fallen Corazon, and Doflamingo pinching the wrinkled bridge of his nose in laughter. Corazon swatted off the others help and continued his way to Law.

Law slightly craned his neck to look up at the looming other, slightly stunned at how tall the man. _Well, he's the lead executive's brother, so of course he's gonna be tall… _The man's thoughts were interrupted when the other pulled out a small notepad from his pocket and a black and gold pen.

He scribbled something onto the paper and handed it to Law before sauntering back to his seat next to Doflamingo. Law, bewildered and at the same time intrigued, looked down onto the paper and read the word to himself.

_Tequila_

The handwriting was neat for someone with ASD. Law tucked the note into the pockets of his black slacks and resumed for the bar. When he reached the area, he carefully laid out the glasses into the sink to be washed and set aside the serving plate for further use. Law started washing the wine glasses just as he glanced over to his left to check on Baby 5. An annoyed look passed over his face.

Baby 5 remained exactly where he left her, accompanying the bar seat in the corner. She had her phone out, fingers busily tapping the screen. Law saw a wide grin spread across her lips when her fingers stopped their flurried movements, and cutesy chuckles slipped from her lips once they started up again. "I leave you alone for one minute and this is what you do? Talk to your imaginary boyfriend over the phone?"

Baby 5 glared at Law through narrowed eyes. "Imaginary? As if—you wouldn't understand a thing about love and relationships if it fell on your head with a brick,"

Law snorted and rolled his eyes at the dark haired woman. Just as he turned around, three white slips of paper were suddenly in his view. Law grabbed all three of them and scanned through the orders quickly.

_A Long Island Iced Tea for back-stage table 12, a Perfect Manhattan for back- stage table 10, a Lady Margarita and three perfect martinis for back-stage table 13. _"Baby 5, did you know about these orders sitting up here?"

The woman didn't look up from her phone but grunted her answer. "Why didn't you take care of these while I was gone? You could've at least made them, and now these people are pissed because God knows how long they've—"

"Um, that's not my problem. You shouldn't have been nosy and watching the poker game when you knew orders would be coming in."

"That IS what you're here for, right!?"

"Have you forgotten the deal we both made?"

The male dried off his hands and started taking out dry wine glasses and bottles from the large cabinet behind him. When he heard the snarky reply from the dark haired woman, a long eye roll ensued. "Yeah, yeah—you work your shift, and I work mine."

"And don't forget about your get to work, or those tips that you work for will start going out the window. And we both know you can't afford _that _to happen."

He gritted his teeth to keep from replying back with an equally snappy reply and set aside bottles of rum, gin, tequila and vodka. He started with making the Long Island Iced Teas and mixed the ingredients together in a mixing glass. Going his by judgment, Law poured the mixed ingredients into a shaker filled with ice and gave it a brief shake. The three glasses had already been produced and were filled with the light brown drink up to the rim.

Adding in thin black straws for each and an extra sliced lemon on the rim, Law placed the two iced teas onto a serving plate and went to work on the others.

His skills in working with the medical department paid to his advantage, and all eight alcoholic beverages were set onto the serving plate and ready to be served. "You could have helped though," he replied to Baby 5 as he hoisted the large tray over his shoulder. Baby 5 shrugged, not taking her eyes off the screen of her phone.

Reciting the table numbers in his mind, Law exited the bar and quickly maneuvered his way through the tightly packed crowd. He first went back to Doflamingo and Corazon, who thankfully remained seated at the poker table. Law noticed several of the executives had departed from the poker table, leaving the blonde-haired brothers, Diamante, the old man and Vise alone at the table.

Law gave Doflamingo his iced tea and slid Corazon his tequila. "_Dégustez votre boisson ." _he replied in a courteous and perhaps too-friendly tone.

Corazon silently took his drink and downed half of it in less than a minute. Doflamingo sipped his more slowly and went over the lemon floating in the light brown liquid with his tongue. Law saw the yellow fruit slice suddenly disappear into his mouth, where Doflamingo's cheeks starting to cave in while sucking the sour juices.

To stop unnecessary dirty thoughts from careening in his mind, Law quickly bowed and rushed off to serve the other tables. He heard quiet chuckling come from the tablebehind him but didn't turn around to see who it was.

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><p>Diamante peered at Doflamingo through curious eyes, while a large smile folded across his lips. "Care to explain what <em>that <em>was for?"

The male shrugged as he continued sucking on the sour fruit. Assured that every single drop was gone and tainted all over his tongue, Doflamingo took fruit out with his fingers and placed it onto a red napkin. "It's amusing to see him blush like a kid. It's even better that he's foreign; you can tell that from just the way he walks."

Diamante glanced over to see exactly what Doflamingo meant by that. Law was visiting a table near there's and retrieving empty glasses. Once he resumed to the back, he saw what the male meant by his 'peculiar walk'; it was full, each stride possessing a level of confidence that could be mistaken for ego.

Doflamingo chuckled into his drink, bringing Diamante's attention back to him. "It's just a thought, but maybe, just _maybe…_" Corazon, having heard the conversation on the other side of his brother, rolled his eyes as he finished off the rest of his drink.

_Foreigners._

* * *

><p>Tables 10, 12, and 13 were all located in the very back of the casino where the stage was. Law was unfamiliar to the place since he only served in the dining and poker areas. As he made his way to the back, a threatening thought crept into his mind. <em>Dammit Baby 5, if I don't get the hell out of here without getting touched so help me I'll break that phone of yours.<em>

The strip club was unlike the poker and dining spots. Here, it was dark and poorly lit; the only lights the placed had to offer were those that barely lit five feet in front of him. Law had to rely on these lights to navigate in between tables and chairs. Everything was tightly placed together also, making it hard to move from one spot to another without bumping into somebody and rubbing against another.

Seats crafted from fine wood and had luxurious velvety cushions placed in them were set in groups of either two or three and were placed at small wooden tables. Some of the tables had small dancing stages on them, where a long metallic pole ran through it and up to the ceiling.

The small stages were unoccupied and the people sitting at the tables had their eyes fixated on the theatric stage up front. Law noticed how red curtains faintly swayed in an invisible breeze and heard hushed clacks of shoes behind them. _Something big is probably about to happen. _

Law commenced a search for the first table; Table 10. Dark reds, light purples, and fuchsia LED lights helped him out a bit, but not by much. He was able to read the posted numbers that were placed at the edge of the tables, and he had found table 10 in a matter of minutes. "Here's your drink, sir. I apologize for the wait—slight manual issues popped up at the last minute."

There were two men sitting at the table. The one who had ordered the drink gave Law a small nod and took the Perfect Manhattan. Once he was served, Law began searching for table 12. Just like table 10, he had found it quickly and made his way over.

"_Aye, there she goes!" _

Whistles, clapping, and approving shouts erupted just as the swish of the curtains started up. Law halted in his steps and looked around the crowd to see what they were cheering for. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw movement appear on the stage, and that's where his luminous yellow eyes landed next.

A woman had appeared on the glimmering wooden stage, her eyes closed and composure relaxed. A red spotlight fell onto her lean, hourglass-like figure, the color reflecting off her attire and the stage below. Behind her, the curtains quickly closed, and more applause from the crowd came up.

The woman had straightened hair that appeared light red underneath the spotlight, and a lock hanging on her left side. Law was able to distinguish the type of dress that she wore on her lightly-tanned skin. It was a short black Flamenco dress that ended at her knees, and had dark blue stripes going along the bottom part.

A matching blue and black flower was pinned to the left side of her hair to top off the outfit. Law was stunned at how the woman looked underneath the lighting. _She must be one of the dancers… _Loud music blared over the speakers throughout the strip area and sliced through Law's thoughts.

_Ole, ole! _

_Bori bori! _

The woman, finding her cue, hooked her hip out to the left and snapped her arms above her. She still had her eyes closed, Law noticed, but the men surrounding him shouted their approval. As the song continued to spill from the speakers, Law saw the woman's hips saunter to the left and right in a slow, mesmerizing manner. She had started tapping the point of her black heel onto the stage in rhythm to the drum beat before the actual song began.

She slowly brought her hands from their high altitude down to the ends of her frilled dress and pinched at the fabric, and then spun around in a great circle. The men whistled and applauded for more.

Law himself shouted as well. He could have remained directly in front of the stage and watched the woman dance, but the weight of the tray on his opened palm was getting to him. He resumed back to Table 12 and set aside the Long Island Iced Tea. "Sorry about the wait, sir—here is your drink."

The man, sitting alone, thanked Law and took a sip of the drink. His eyes, artificially lightened by the room, lit up as the flavor of the beverage settled on his tongue. "A tad bit sweet, just how I like it. Excellent job, sir." Law gave the man a genuine grin and turned for table 13.

His mind had other ideas, however, and watched the woman on the stage dance passionately to the music. Her hips were rotating counter-clockwise, matching the tempo of the song had.

"Beautiful, isn't she?" The man interrupted Law's concentration on the woman. "I'll give her that; she is pretty."

"She's more than pretty, I'll say. She's authentic, with beauty greater than any celebrity model out there. Just like her authentic beauty, she has dancing skills far better than anyone I've ever known… _good for him to give her the title of_ _La Muchacha Del Baile."_

Law was half-paying attention to what the man was rambling on about until he heard the Spanish title fly from his lips. "Excuse me, but could you repeat that?"

"No need for me to repeat it—just look above the stage."

He followed the man's pointing finger. Sure enough, _La Muchacha Del Baile _was imprinted in cursive black letters above the stage. Law translated the words with what vocabulary he had learned from his high school years. _"The Dancing Girl," _

"Mhm, that's right. I'd pay money any night just to see someone like her dance." To further prove his point, the male shouted his approval when the woman did another spin on the stage. This time the short dress was free from her fingers and flew up, revealing a small line of black underwear underneath. Law chuckled underneath his breath and left the man on his own to serve the final table.

The spin was the finale of the performance once the song ended. Law had found his last table and went over to it, but applause and more shouts stopped him. He turned, hoping to get another good look of the woman before he finished and went back to the bar, but he was stopped when a startling feature was revealed.

The woman's eyes flashed opened and revealed a deep mahogany color, capturing the red spotlight set above the stage. They were frenzied; sweat glistening off the creases along her forehead and slowly creeping down the sides of her cheeks. Her mahogany eyes refused to look at the sea of hungry men before her and found more interest in staring at the LED-littered ceiling until, for some reason, they looked down and locked eyes with Law.

The wild look in her mahogany eyes disappeared, but before Law could depict the expression that it replaced she quickly turned her back from the crowd and returned behind the red curtains.


	4. Coy and Sneaky Violet

Over 20 followers, are you kidding me? Like seriously-wow. I know to some that number seems pretty damn small, but it means the world to me, and I just can't thank you guys enough. Your love and appreciation for this story just keeps me determined to finish it, a pretty hard task for me, and just... T.T  
>Well, to not sound like a broken record, I want to talk about something else; CHRISTMAS. It's really simple, and it's like a little thank-you present for reading, commenting, and just enjoying the story in all. So what I did, was create a Christmas special about a much loved OTP (I can't tell you because it'll ruin the surprise 8D) It'll come out some time this week, don't know yet, but don't think that it'll ruin my weekly updates. Just know that something special is coming up, because you guys mean the world to me, and I hope you enjoy it just as I hope you guys enjoy this chapter.<p>

By the way, how do you like the way I portrayed Violet in this? A little change doesn't hurt anybody, amIrite or amIrite?

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><p><strong>Chapter 4.<br>Coy and Sneaky Violet**

**L**aw exited the strip area, the eyes of the dancer fresh on his mind. She had turned away too quickly for him to see her expression, making the woman mysterious and unreadable. Returning back to the bar, Law placed the round metallic plate into the sink and scanned the black countertop for anymore hidden white slips.

Baby 5 remained seated on the bar stool, her attention still focused on her lit up screen. Upon Law's arrival, however, she lifted her head up and gave a light, barely audible sniff. Baby 5's nose wrinkled up when the smell of strong perfume and liquor invaded her sinuses. Law saw this and cocked his left eyebrow above his eye. "What, is there something on me?"

"No. You smell like a girl."

The man's lips curled into a slight frown, his gray eyes taking on a deadpan appearance. "If you would have done your job in the first place I wouldn't smell like a girl." Baby 5 didn't reply; she glanced down at her phone and resumed texting whoever.

Law sighed and got to work washing off his neglected dishes. As he washed, his eyes trailed across the crowded tables inside of The Royal House. They landed near Doflamingo's table, still inhabited by the leader and his brother, Diamante, Trebol, and a ridiculously broad-shouldered man that looked ready to combust in his black and white suit.

The man had long and wavy hair light lavender in color and was pulled back into a loose ponytail with locks framing either side of his face. Law couldn't make out the rest of his facial features since they were hidden underneath his black hat; plus, he didn't want to come off as a stalker to the man.

So, after reassessing his overly large body, Law swept his attention elsewhere. He was just about done with cleaning and drying the wine glasses and moved on to the serving plate that he placed in the sink when the appearance of another white slip stopped him short.

The paper was brought to him by a young olive-skinned man similar to him. He had faint stubble on his chin, opposing to the goatee Law was sporting and had sideburns an inch shorter than Law's. The only difference in between the two men was the hair; while Law's was jet black, the other had flecks of brown thrown in at the roots.

The man slid the paper closer to him and pointed off to a ringing table on his left. "My shift's over, so take care 'a that 'ight?" The thick New Yorker accent rolled off his tongue fluidly. Before Law could interject, the man was walking off in the other direction, twirling a set of car keys as he passed through the golden barred doors.

Law sighed with faint fatigue before taking the slip and going over it. _Two Lady Margaritas and three Bourbons. _Another sigh exited his lips as he crushed and tossed the paper into the trashcan underneath. Knowing Baby 5 wouldn't get up to make the beverages, Law started putting them together in reasonable timing and placed them on an already washed and dried serving plate.

He hoisted the medium sized plate onto his opened palm and exited the bar, then maneuvered his way to the incessant ringing. Law appeared at a dining table full of women, laughing and enjoying the fancy array of appetizers before them.

There were five sitting around the table, three of them wearing mini dresses in solid colors and the other two wearing full gowns. Law set the plate on the side of the mahogany crafted table and started passing the women each of their drinks.

The first one to receive her beverage was a woman that had black wavy hair cascading down her shoulders. She wore a strapless red and black mini dress which revealed milky white skin flushed red underneath the lighting.

The woman fixated her oceanic teal eyes onto Law as she cupped her margarita from the bottom and raised it to her lips. "_My, my, _what a handsome devil the Don Quixote Family recruited this week. And he surely knows how to make a margarita at its finest."

Law glanced at the woman, noting her lightly flushed cheeks and dilated pupils. He curled his lips in a tiny smile and gathered his plate underneath his arm. "Is there anything else you ladies need? I can clear some of those plates for you, if you don't mind,"

"_What about a piece of that ass?" _

Law didn't register it but the circle of women before him burst into laughter and gave him sly coquettish looks. "Miss Alvida, you can't say things like that to a young man! You'll come off as a cougar."

"Oh to hell with that term. Can't a girl get any fun without being reprimanded for it?" Alvida turned back to Law and gave him a leering smile. "Age is nothing but a number anyway. So how 'bout it, _young man? _Let's get to know one another—a drink?"

Law took that as his invitation to leave. With a small bow and a hurried _"Adieu!" _he hustled back to the bar. He could hear Alvida and the other ladies snickering madly behind him, clearly intoxicated.

Once Law was in the safety of the bar he threw Baby 5 a heated glance. The woman, too preoccupied in her phone, didn't see it. Law sighed heavily; with most of the wine glasses put away and the sink fairly empty, he too sat back and occupied himself with looking at the crowds before him.

Being absorbed into his people-watching, he didn't hear Baby 5 squeal excitedly and jump from the barstool. Only when she brushed past him did Law glance behind and saw her heading for the exit of the bar. "Whoa, where are you going?"

Baby 5 rolled her eyes without looking at Law, and then turned around to face him. "I'm leaving so you can finish your shift." She started to head out once again.

"Won't you get in trouble if you leave without checking out or some—"

An audible click of the tongue had cut off Law's sentence, and Baby 5 whipped her head around again to face Law. "Listen here Law; I'm a full-fledged member of the Don Quixote Family, unlike you. I can leave whenever I want and come back at whatever time I feel like it. _Bien?" _

Law felt his lips purse at the attempted French word. He rolled his eyes and dismissed the dark haired woman with a flick of his wrist. "_D'accord, quelle que soit. _Go have fun with your boyfriend and whatnot. He needs you more than me, apparently."

Law resumed to his people-watching for another five minutes until a faint cough captured his attention. Turning his head, he looked over and saw a slightly blushing Baby 5 staring back at him, her hands clenching at her sides. She swallowed once and parted her red tinted lips, where an audible squeak pushed out. _"D-D-Do you n-n-need me, L-L-Law?" _

"Just go!"

The blush vanished instantly and Baby 5 was hurrying towards the exit. Law watched her leave, rolling his eyes as he did so. _Women. I'll never understand them. _

He returned back to people-watching, smirking at his own remark.

For the rest of the night Law served tables, washed glasses, served more tables, and washed more glasses in a repeating, tiresome cycle. It was nearing ten-thirty, close to his overtime hours, and Law started to feel fatigue crawl into his bones eyes. Sleep drooped heavily onto his eyelids and was making it harder for him to keep them open.

Law had returned from serving his umpteenth table that night and slumped into the barstool that was once seating Baby 5. His head started to nod off and Law began slipping in and out of the comfort of his black dreams, which then turned to images of his black and yellow striped comforter resting on his king-sized bed.

A faint smile started to waver on his thin lips. How nice that comforter would be once he got home. When he would take off his starch-ridden dress shirt and slacks, and then proceed to fall into his bed with plaid pajama pants and a t-shirt on.

No, scratch that—he'd probably just strip down to his extremities and snuggle underneath the comforters, letting the warmth and softness of the fabric lull him into sleep. Yes, that sounded better. Law's faint smile turned into a growing grin the further he went into his mind.

"Rookie!"

Law jumped in his chair, the back of his head bumping into one of the lower shelves sitting behind the bar. Rubbing away at the tender spot, he turned to the man that shocked him out of his sleep. "_Ou—_I mean, yeah? What's up?" It didn't register to Law that the man neglected in calling him by his real name.

The other rolled his eyes and gave him a white slip. "Come on kid, if you're going to work here you need to stay awake. Dose up on some speed or something if you need to." He pointed to the white slip underneath his finger. "Get busy on that. After you're finished, start cleaning up this place. Don't forget that your overtime starts tonight."

It annoyed Law at how everyone that worked in The Royal House seemed to know more about his hours than he himself, but he didn't voice his complaint. The man turned away just as Law got up and went to prepare the beverages.

They were simple—two vodkas with lime served on the side. Placing the glasses on a recently cleaned serving plate, Law took them to a ringing table at his right, this one accompanied by two men in a friendly game of roulette.

After serving the men and staying to watch a part of the game, Law headed back to the bar to begin his shift. What the man had said earlier finally sunk through his brain, making Law snort in dry amusement. _Please, like I need to get doped up on a drug or stimulant to keep me awake. _

Once he dropped the serving plate into the sink, Law got to work closing down the bar. He grabbed a dishrag from the bottom of the sink and soaked it in hot running water. With the rag thoroughly soaked and dripping with hot water, Law applied it to the countertop and scrubbed away at the obsidian surface. The rag was removing any traces of dirt and food particles left behind plates to be later swept up, and Law applied bleach to the black countertops to finish off the job.

Being so engrossed in cleaning off the surface, he hadn't noticed someone sitting behind the bar, patiently waiting to be served. He returned to the sink to drop the rag inside when he caught a familiar pair of mahogany eyes, and was shocked to see the woman from the_ La Muchacha Del Baile _stage sitting before him.

Just like how she appeared on the stage, the woman was beautiful underneath regular lighting. Her skin was a light-tan complexion and her hair was similar to a chocolate waterfall, falling over her shoulders in luscious brown locks. The brunette was also surprised to see him once again and gave Law a friendly smile, one that he returned with his own. "Hey."

"Hi. You look very familiar… Have we met before?"

Law nodded as he drained the rag into the sink. "Well, I saw you on stage if that counts." He folded the rag across the median of the sink and grabbed the sweeper resting against the wall. The brunette blinked, remembering the moment, and then sighed thoughtfully. "Oh, yes. We did capture each other's eyes, didn't we?"

Law nodded and proceeded to sweep up fallen particles from off the tiled floor. The brunette watched him work, one hand resting on the left side of her face and the other draped over her arm. Now that she was closer to him, Law was able to make out unseen facial features than when she was on the stage.

Such as the smoky black eye shadow that went around her eyes, bringing out the mahogany color within them. Noticing how long he was staring into such captivating eyes, Law quickly thought of an icebreaker to start off the conversation. "My name's Law, by the way."

The brunette grinned, though it only lasted for a few moments. "Law?" she repeated. His name rolled off her tongue with a hint of Spaniard in it. He nodded shortly. "I have heard of a Law working here, but I thought he worked in the kitchen. So are there two Laws now?"

A breathy chuckle pushed between Law's lips. "No, there's only one Law. I use to work in the back until someone moved me up to this position."

"Oh? Well, how nice of him. I still figured that Baby 5 would be here working alongside you, but you can never get that woman to do anything for a suspended amount of time. Huh, I bet she was happy when they moved you to bartender."

A playful, small grin panned across Law's lips at the comment. "Well, she was the one who did it herself. Claims she did it out of the goodness of her heart, but you normally don't include a contract with something like that." The raven haired man started up a quiet chuckle again.

The brunette mocked him, chuckling into her free palm. Law's grin widened more; he found it surprisingly easy to talk to her unlike the other members of the gang. Was she apart of this gang, too? Law decided to save the question for later, in fear that he might ruin their all-too-good conversation.

Catching what the man had said, the brunette stopped her chuckling and gave Law a curious look. "Wait, contract? I know this is Baby 5 we're talking about, but what did she mean by 'contract'?"

A nonchalant shrug came on Law's side. "'You work your shift, and I work mine. Got it?' type of contract. It's stupid really, but it benefits both of us in a way."

"Shifts?"

"Yeah—I work part-time here. I wouldn't even dream of working at this place as a full time job." A faint shiver unnoticed by the brunette passed through Law.

"Part time?" The brunette slipped out of her position and leaned forward, clearly intrigued at what Law was saying. He nodded once more. "Why are you working part-time? What's the reason behind it?"

_The tricky part_. Law was unsure how to go about discussing his financial problem to the woman, despite how easy it was to talk to her. He decided to go along the natural way, leaving important details out. "Extra money for school."

"_You're a student!? Then what the hell are you doing working here?!"_

The outburst took Law by surprise and nearly made him drop the sweeper. The brunette was taken aback as well and resettled herself in her seat, clearing her throat as she did so. "Where do you go to school at?" she replied, instantly changing the subject.

_Weird.. _"New York University."

"Ah, that's good. Is the bar closed by the way? I wanted to snag a quick drink before I headed back to the stage."

"It's in the process of closing, but I can make you something if it's not too elaborate."

The woman ordered a small glass of tequila. Law fixed it up and slid it towards her. "Here you go Miss…"

"Please, just call me Violet. Misses are used for wealthy and intelligent women." Law instantly grew curious at the answer as Violet sipped the alcoholic beverage. She placed it down on the surface and looked around, then back towards Law.

He had finished up sweeping and was reaching for the mop to give the floor a final touch up. Violet hid her smirk behind her glass as she took another sip, then it faded into a light smile when Law looked back at her. "So, your style of dancing. It's different from most of the strippers you would normally see on TV."

When Law looked back to read her expression, he bit his tongue. Violet's grip on the glass was tight and looked like she was about to break the thing into smithereens. She let the rage that slipped inside of her pass through a loud sigh, which in turn had loosened her grip. "That's because I don't dance like a stripper. I wouldn't dare let myself be sold into removing clothes from my body, only to have perverted men beg for more. It's degrading to the womankind."

Law grunted his agreement. Violet did have a point, he remarked to himself. "All men are the same when it comes to topics such as this. They want more, and will do anything to get it. Men are foul creatures, and yet strippers such as those in the back love them for it. The ones that pay the most are the hungriest, and that's what attracts them.

But I can see it all. I see it in every single one of them as I dance to the music. It's such a sickening sight to see an ocean of hungry eyes prey upon you, searching for whatever opening to attack."

"Is that why you danced with your eyes closed?"

"I always dance with my eyes close. It's the best tip for a dancer. They can focus on their moves that way. It's better for me because I don't see the ugliness in the crowd."

Violet finished off her drink and slid it to Law for another. He was surprised at how the brunette described the women behind the curtains and the men that watched her night after night. Law began to wonder if this is what she goes through all the time. If that was the case, why was she still working here?

"You should leave, Law."

Violet beat him to asking the question first. Law shrugged away the option. "I can't; not yet at least. Not until the end of my second semester."

"That bad, huh?" Violet sipped her drink before twirling the clear liquid around. "If you need money, why don't you just take it from the treasury room?"

"The treasury room?"

Violet's eyes widened at what she said. Law heard her mumble words such as 'stupid' and 'big-mouth', and a Spanish phrase that was probably equivalent to being called a dumbass. "Don't worry about it. The treasury room's not a place you should familiarize yourself with yet—not until you get to my level."

"Your level?"

Violet grinned slyly. "Don Quixote member level. If you were to ever go in that treasury room without permission, even if you somehow obtained the key and passcode, Young Master would have your head in a mere five seconds."

The fatigue Law felt earlier was replaced with burning curiosity. He wasn't the type to go snooping around in places he shouldn't belong, but the mentioning of the treasury room got the mischievous part of his blood broiling. He went to press for more answers, such as what the key looked like, but Violet slid her glass to him. "Refill please. Anyways, think of the treasury room as The Royal House's main organ—the heart. To steal from it, you'd slowly kill the thing and everything inside this casino would come crashing down.

It's also the weakness of the place, and makes it a perfect target to launch any type of attack on it. But I doubt you know anything about that, do you?"

Law gave the drink back to Violet, quirking an eyebrow at her last sentence. The woman kept saying sneakier things that piqued Law's curiosity and also started to make her look suspicious. "That important you said? What's all that's in the treasury room?"

"What's in your typical treasury room?" Violet countered. Law pondered before answering. "Money?"

"Sometimes—in this case, yes. Loads of it, stashed in several different golden vaults. Not only money, but weapons you wouldn't even think they were real. Jewelry, artifacts dating back to several hundred years ago, drugs—you name it and it's probably located in there."

Law's mopping ceased. The Royal House was holding possibly billions of dollars behind a closed and tightly sealed door? While the thought seemed to excite Violet, it made Law's stomach quiver and recede to his spine. "_They stole some of it, didn't they?_"

Violet chuckled at this. "Stole some, received some, and gained some. In the world of gangs, stealing is considered a business, and yours partners are the gangs allied to you."

_That's probably how Doflamingo and Corazon end up with those rings. _Law thought back to the golden rings on the men's fingers, and a bitter smirk formed on his lips. _I hate to admit it, but they looked damn good on both of them. Especially Doflamingo. _

Violet saw the smirk with a similar one spreading across her pale tinted lips. "I know, right? All that money, located in the same place you happen to be working for. It's tempting, isn't it?" She took a finishing sip of her drink and slowly sucked on a piece of ice. Once the ice melted and the liquid went down her throat, Violet gave Law a dark expression.

"Would you do me a favor, Law?"

The raven haired male faced the brunette and was about to say yes before he caught her dark expression. A scream would have fled from his lips if it weren't for his natural filter slamming into place. Her mahogany eyes, once bright and lively, were now dark and threatening. She had a nasty grin on her lips that reflected off of her malicious expression.

Violet rolled in her bottom lip and gently clenched it with her pearly teeth. Upon letting it go, a seductive tone took to her voice. "Would you find the golden key to that treasury room and give it to me?"

Law wasn't able to answer fast enough before Violet was asking the question in a different format. "Or, how about you find it and go to the treasury room yourself, then steal five-hundred million dollars and give it to me?"

A stunned expression one couldn't describe in words properly was written all over Law's face. His throat had closed up, unable to produce words or even a sound. The handle of the mop that he gripped fell and hit the floor with an ear-shattering _wha-crack! _thatsilenced the entire casino in Law's mind.

Seeing this, Violet's expression changed, and she quickly apologized to the man. "I'm sorry, that was such a stupid thing to ask. You're a school student trying to earn your money the right way, not the wrong way—please forgive me Law." He still didn't respond.

Violet pushed herself from the table and headed back to the strip area. _"Adios, Law! _It was a pleasure talking with you, but now I have to go back to these hungry men. Take care!"

Law came back to his senses the moment Violet disappeared from his view. Even though she was out of his eyes, her words haunted him through his mind.

_Would you find the golden key to treasury and steal five-hundred million dollars, and then give it to me? _He shivered, not out of cold but out of fear. The way she asked was so dark and so outrageous at the same time.

Law bent over to retrieve the fallen mop stick and continued wiping down the floors in an attempt to get the woman out of his mind. It worked for the most part, but another thing came to him soon after—

The woman forgot to pay.

"_Goddammit.." _


	5. The Royal Hall of Fame

The fifth and final chapter of Gambling Affairs.  
>Just kidding 8'D It happens to be the final chapter for the year, in fact. I feel like it's a good way to end 2014, wouldn't you agree? Next chapter, you all will be getting a peek into Law's second life, and perhaps see a few well-loved characters (not telling still ^^;).<br>I hope you guys had a wonderful Christmas, and may your New Year be deeeelightful. See you all next year!

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><p><strong>Chapter 5.<strong>

**The Royal Hall of Fame**

The floor was finished and Law placed the mop back in its place beside the wine cabinet. He strolled back towards the sink and knelt down in front of the cabinet to pull out a large gray tub, already equipped with a ready-to-use dishrag. With the small _Closed _sign placedat the edge of the countertop in full view, Law maneuvered his way out of the bar to commence with cleaning up the rest of the casino.

The Royal House was designed in the shape of a pentagon; the interior housed all of the poker and roulette tables with dining areas able to seat up to twelve people surrounding the rim. People were already evacuating the dining area, so Law started there first.

His first table was a sizable one; the curved booth appeared like it could fit a group of fifteen comfortably. It was placed in a dark corner of the casino behind velvety red curtains and had pale lights illuminating the maroon tablecloth. Paintings of poker chips in Picasso art were lined up along the wall, a small light planted inside. This light made the paintings shine blue, green, red and yellow in a faded shadow which bounced off the maroon surface of the table. Because of its place setting, Law guessed the table was for special parties similar to Doflamingo's.

He went about gathering empty wine glasses that were scattered across the surface. There was an abundance of dishes right after the wine glasses, some still having leftover food on it. Law dumped the leftovers into the gray tub and made a mental note to clean it off before he left for home.

After wiping down the table with the dishrag, careful of the exquisite maroon tablecloth, Law grabbed the partially-full tub and made his way to the next table. It was smaller in comparison but still rivaled the other in wine glasses and plates of leftover food. Law collected the dishes and placed them into the gray tub so he could wipe down the table.

The other dining tables that surrounded him were starting to empty out group by group. Poker and roulette tables were being evacuated one by one after several hours of friendly games. Members of the Don Quixote Family were also leaving the casino; Doflamingo and his younger brother were enjoying their last few hours in the gambling area before they left for the exit.

Law watched them as he scrubbed the mahogany surface. His eyes trailed Doflamingo; he and his younger brother appeared to be in a deep conversation with one of the men Law saw at the round table earlier. He heard a glimpse of the men's conversation with Senor as he was getting ready to head out. _"I see… you're leaving for the night as well?" _

"_Mm, not just yet. I have to check the vaults before we leave. Take care, Senor." _Senor waved at the two blonde men with a flick of his hand and left the Royal House. Doflamingo, with his younger brother following after him, slipped through a pair of red and gold barred doors, different from the exit Senor took. Law caught a fleeting glance of a red-carpeted hallway before the vision was replaced with the doors again.

Half an hour had passed and the casino was devoid of sound and people once Law made his way to the main dining area. The only thing that kept him company besides his own breathing was the sound of glass hitting glass, and later hard plastic. _Strange, _he mused to himself. Of course he was to be alone when cleaning up the casino, but there was usually someone else in the building with him. Had they left too?

Several tables in and Law came across the large round table Doflamingo and his crew sat when he first met them. With no one sitting in the mahogany seats, the round table was massive, easily oversizing the others he had cleaned. It was more pristine than those, holding no wine glasses and few plates. Law took the plates and gave them a swift scrubbing before dropping them into the gray container to be washed. Applying the rag to the wooden surface, he started wiping down food particles and other bits before dropping that back into the tub as well.

Law took a step back to view the massive table. The largest of the seats stared back at him, standing tall and regal amid the others. _Doflamingo sat in this very chair… _Law thought to himself, the image of the man coming to him. Just like earlier, a faint shudder passed through his shoulders and down to his toes in relieving the small moment.

He had just stood before a man rumored to be the most dangerous in New York, with his entire crew beside him. A smile one could describe as victorious stretched across his face and later reached his eyes. Law didn't understand why, but to say he was face-to-face with a criminal made his blood rush through his veins and made more tremors attack his spine.

The grand chair before him was beginning to look enticing the longer he stared at it. The image of Doflamingo sitting in that chair had started to fade away and replace itself with Law's own body. How would he look sitting in that chair? Would he be able to look menacing and at the same time striking? Would he be able to make a death threat sound promising and irresistible at the same time?

Couldn't hurt to try, right?

Law was hesitant in moving to the chair, out of fear that someone might suddenly come around the corner and halt him in his tracks, or that he might chip it somehow. However, with one look at the red cushioning and smooth wooden surface, his subconscious took over his body and started to advance towards the kingly chair. It moved his legs closer and closer until the cushion was just a few inches underneath him.

The wooden edge bent his knees from behind and made Law drop into the plush cushions. Everything about Doflamingo still lingered around it and swarmed the man's senses: the warm imprint of when he last sat in the chair was still there, and the smell of the cologne he was wearing was still present. Law breathed in the cologne and moaned quietly—a hint of some exotic fragrance with just a bit of musk to top it off.

A sly, mischievous smirk started to play at his lips. He could feel a small rush of adrenaline go through his body, making him feel like royalty—as if he had unlimited power. His eyes focusing at the empty spot he once stood in, Law mimicked Doflamingo when he was first being interrogated by the man. He folded his hands tightly underneath his chin.

"_Hey, where'd you get that bruise from?" _

The sound of his voice reached his ears and made his body draw back sharply in the seat. _Too high-pitched, _he told himself. It didn't match Doflamingo's deep, alto voice, and it definitely didn't hold as much power as his did. Clearing his throat, Law tried again.

"_Where did you get that bruise from?" _

Wasn't bad, but definitely wasn't Doflamingo's, either. But it was improvement. Law cleared his throat for a third time, hoping to get it just right.

"_That bruise. Where did it come from?" _

The voice that bled into his ears brought a victorious grin to his face. That was the voice right there, he told himself triumphantly—it was spot-on to Doflamingo and felt just as powerful as his. The imagined Law jumped at his voice, a noticeable tremor going down his spine. Law grinned naughtily and went for another approach. He imagined himself feeding a little white lie to quickly answer the question. _"That's not smart, kid. Lying is a dangerous thing to do in this world; it can and will get you killed." _

Imagined Law shivered for a second time and turned his eyes away from Law. The man was having a blast at playing Pretend; he started to wonder if Doflamingo ever felt the same way. Does he smile when he put others in distress? Questions about the mafia leader plagued Law's mind along with perfecting his menacing voice.

He didn't realize how much thought he was putting into the man and how much he was trying to be like him; or when another pair of ears other than his own was in the building, picking up his deeply faked voice. He still continued his little game of charades.

"_Are you badmouthing my little brother, brat? You must have a death warrant ready to be signed—no one fucks with my little brother and gets away unscathed." _

_No, sounds too forced. _Law flinched at the harshness of the sentence.

"_How about this; get the hell out of my face, and tell those damned cooks to hurry up with the food. I'm starving here." _

_Much better, _he told himself. Improvement was definitely noticeable and it made Law grin in satisfaction. He cleared his throat in preparation for a final line when a much louder cough caught him off guard and nearly made him choke. Law launched himself out of Doflamingo's seat, tripping over the legs while doing so, and turned around only to stare eye-to-eye with Violet.

Her mahogany eyes were deadpan and held little glow to them, only making Law feel more and more embarrassed for what he did. "What the _hell _are you doing talking to yourself and sitting in Doflamingo's seat?"

Law opened his mouth to explain himself, but words suddenly seemed foreign to him. He rubbed his hand up against his wrist and glanced away instead, unable to provide an answer for the woman. "What were you doing, playing _Pretend Mafia Leader_? You're only embarrassing yourself and making Doflamingo sound like a fool."

A chagrined expression came across Law's face only to be wiped away with sudden fear. Was Doflamingo still in the building, along with his brother? Violet saw the expression and, with a tight-lipped smirk, held a small chuckle underneath her breath. "Good thing Doflamingo left while you were too busy playing Pretend, huh? Though it now confirms my suspicion that you and I are the only ones here at the moment. Well, I'm glad I found you at least."

Gentle clacks were heading in Law's direction and he looked up to see Violet advancing towards him. She still had on her black and blue Flamenco dress, but the large black and blue flower once pinned to her hair was removed, and she wore a black jacket on her shoulders.

Law saw his recently spilled black vest draped across the woman's arms. Judging by the expression on his face, Violet figured she had found the owner of the slightly damp vest. "Is this yours? I found it lying on the barstool as I was walking by."

Law nodded while grabbing his vest. Memories of the incident passed through his mind, and a sudden surge of anger went through him as he thought about the ASD man who did it. "Curious to know what happened to the thing. Did you spill alcohol all over it or something?"

"Or something. It'll come off with a good wash." Law put the black vest on him. It was still damp in some places and had a faint bitter smell to it, but otherwise looked like nothing ever happened to it. After brushing off invisible particles from the black fabric, he started making his way back to his tub filled with dishes. Only when he grabbed the handles did it register what the brunette said earlier. "Wait, you're the only one here?"

"Other than you."

A rock settled at the bottom of Law's stomach. He thought _someone _would still be here, at least cleaning up the kitchen in the back. The suspicions he had earlier were confirmed, and another surge of anger jolted through him. Violet noticed the change of confusion and then rage that took part in Law's eyes as he hoisted the gray tub in his arms. "Shouldn't you be used to this? You have been doing it for a while right?"

A mumbled answer slipped through Law's lips as he made his way back to the bar, Violet following him. "Yeah, but I was only working in the kitchen back then. And I _knew _I had two other people cleaning up the tables and washing the dishes. Now, I have to do all that, plus more, by myself." He said this as he pushed through the kitchen doors and made his way to the back to dump off the dishes.

The kitchen wasn't as bad as Law had thought it would be; in fact, it hardly looked dirty at all. As if no one was hustling out food and slinging pots around for the last several hours he had been here. Violet took note of his surprised face and giggled quietly. "Well, looks like you don't have to do _everything _by yourself, huh? Someone already tackled the kitchen for you."

"Yeah," Law murmured thankfully, filling up the sink with warm water. It didn't take long for the water to reach midway, so he started to place each individual plate in the water to soak. Grabbing the tub, Law headed back out to restart the cycle.

Violet provided him with a great source of company as he cleaned and wiped off the tables. Through their conversations, Law realized she had tackled two major things that would have taken him hours to complete; resetting the poker tables and cleaning the strip club area.

"If you were to place the chips in the wrong order, Senor would shoot you down in a heartbeat. There's a certain way he likes his cards and chips stacked."

"Well, I'm glad for that. I could have cleaned the strip club area though; that is a part of my job and a portion of my paycheck."

Violet had shaken her head rapidly at this. "No way _mi amigo. _It's _my_ job to clean up the stage and tables; you would have done nothing but ruined that as well."

Now, with the dining tables cleaned off, the dishes washed, dried, and stacked in their correct cabinets, the only thing left for Law to do were the floors. Grabbing the vacuum and mop, he started for the gambling area to get that out of the way. Violet helped him with stacking the chairs upside-down on the tables and stood back to let the man vacuum the carpeted floors.

Once he was done with that, the dining floors were next. The sound of water slapping at tiles invaded Violet's ears and blocked out other miscellaneous thoughts; the back and forth movement of the mop provided her with something to look at as Law cleaned up the tiled floors. "I appreciate you keeping me company by the way."

A nonchalant shrug came from Violet's end. "Hey Law?"

"Yeah?"

"Why were you pretending to be Doflamingo?"

The question caught Law off guard for a second time that night. He shrugged casually, hoping that that was the end of the conversation. It wasn't though—Violet pushed on. "Do you even know who Don Quixote Doflamingo is?"

"_Oui, oui_. He's New York's number one criminal or something along those lines. It's not like I was practicing in hopes of being like him one day—I was just doing it for fun."

Law heard Violet's lips smack at the answer he gave him. "I want to show you something after you're done with your late night shift."

The treasury room? Law punted the thought out of his mind just as it came to surface. She was just asking for him steal five hundred million dollars from the room a minute ago—unless she was showing him the directions to it. The sudden curiosity that embedded itself in his stomach quickly vanished at the thought.

Law finished mopping the entire dining area and stashed the mop beside the wine cabinet for the rest of the night. Grabbing his phone and wallet in the corner of the black countertop, he made his way to where Violet was patiently waiting on him. The woman pushed herself between the red and gold barred double doors the brothers once took, and the red-carpeted hallway stretched out underneath him.

The hallway seemed brighter than the Royal House at its opening hours and led all the way to another pair of double doors, this one straight mahogany. Law stood in front of the red and gold doors with his jaws agape, mostly at the immense size of the hallway. "You haven't seen anything yet. C'mon, follow me."

Violet led him down the red carpeted hallway. Law looked left, then right, and finally up, taking note of the golden pillars that stretched up to the ceiling and the porcelain walls that had paintings in between each of the golden pillars. The more Law focused on the paintings, the more recognizable most of them were—they were famous paintings from across the world, such as the Mona Lisa, Babel Tower, and Weeping Woman. Law started up a small game to name those that he knew, not surprising himself that he figured out all of them.

He would have continued with his small game if the final painting hadn't disappeared and was replaced with a very recognizable face. Violet had stopped in front of this painting and directed Law's attention to it, as well as the other recognizable faces along the walls. "Take a good look at these paintings. Especially _his._"

Violet stayed behind when Law started shuffling towards the mahogany double doors. His eyes were scanning over the faces of the Don Quixote members that he met at the round table and the golden plaques underneath them listing their names. There was Vise, his full name being Machvise. Senor was right beside him—his full name was Senor Pink, despite the fact he was wearing all black in the portrait.

Beside Senor Pink was Jora, her large orange and blonde hair giving her a spunky impression. Law still had yet to hear the woman actually talk to confirm that and secretly hoped she wasn't like Alvida or the other women at the table. Gladius, Baby 5, and the old man named Lao G took up the rest of the wall, and Law moved on over to see those on the other side.

There was a green haired woman with orange spiral glasses named Monet, a man with strangely cut sideburns wearing black shades named Vergo was next to Monet, and there was a large faced man with a strange haircut and buckteeth going by the name of Buffalo. _He has more? _Violet and Dellinger took up the last two spots right next to the executives.

Law turned away to face the mahogany doors and caught two great paintings sitting above them, staring at the male through shaded eyes. They were Doflamingo and Corazon. The real name of Corazon was in elegant, cursive letters like the rest; Don Quixote Rocinante.

A shudder passed through Law as he stood in the portraits' eyes. Violet came up beside him, her arms folding across her chest. "You were copying a man well known for causing death and destruction to New York. Have you realized it now?"

"W-Well, it was taken as a joke.." Law still couldn't give the woman a straight answer and hated himself for it. He also hated how Violet was starting to act like his mother in questioning and then lecturing him; or trying to, at least. Violet huffed underneath her breath and took her eyes away from the paintings. "They call this the Royal Hall of Fame—I bet you can see why, huh? Not only does it house famous paintings from around the world, but it shows the members of the family in painted royalty."

Law was thankful the brunette decided to change the topic. "Who painted these?" he asked as his eyes scanned over the portraits. Violet's finger was visible out the corner of his eyes and was pointing to Jora. "She did. Jora's starting to become a well-known painter around New York."

"Wow," Law slowly took his eyes away from Doflamingo's painting to look at the mahogany double doors before him. Curiosity started to prod at his senses. "Is this the exit?" he asked, somewhat to himself.

"No. That's the treasury room."

He must have been looking at her in a funny way, because Violet faced him with a perplexed expression on her face. "What? Don't you see the keypad and lock on the door?" When Law looked back, he noticed a gray keypad beside the large door and a small golden lock holding both doorknobs in place. "This is the treasury room? I figured it would be somewhere in the back… and not so luxurious looking."

A snort escaped through Violet's nose. "That's where the exit is; there are two. The entrance and the back exit where workers leave. This very door you stand in front of is indeed the doors to ultimate wealth."

Amazed, Law ambled closer to the mahogany doors. The curiosity that prodded at his senses only grew worse, and he found himself wanting to know exactly what was behind the double doors. "Careful Law," Violet warned as the man examined the keypad and lock. "You press the wrong five digits and you'll signal death upon you."

What was that, the fifth death threat in a single night? Law rolled his eyes as he made his way back to Violet. "It's not like I planned on _stealing _anything tonight. I got a long day tomorrow, and an even longer night probably." Violet turned away to hide the faint smirk on her lips. Just as Law was taking his slow time walking out of the Royal Hall of Fame, Violet followed him. The two followed the red carpet out of the hallway, Law glancing back to get a final look at the mahogany doors. His eyes lingered on the luxurious wood that protected the wealth stored behind it, and Law began to wonder how much valuable stuff was really in that room.

He strolled to where Violet was waiting on him when a noise invaded his left ear. Law stopped, craning the left side of his face in hopes of hearing the nose again. When it didn't return, he shrugged lightly and slipped through the red and gold doors. "Why'd you stop all of a sudden?"

The two were heading for the back exit located in the kitchen. "I could have sworn I heard chuckling in the treasury room." Violet giggled into her hand at Law's answer. "Yeah, right. Chuckling—that door's about as soundproof as it is bulletproof. You were probably just hearing things."

It was borderline midnight when the two reached their cars. The only light that provided them safe passage to their vehicles was the blinking in and out light of the streetlamp, and that only shone over Violet's car. Law pulled out his phone to check for the time and groaned quietly when he read the numbers. _12:05—I probably won't be getting home until half past twelve if traffic allows it. _

"_Nos vemos manana por la noche _Law. Have a safe drive home."

The brunette's voice stopped Law's train of thought. He looked over to see her hop into a sleek black Mercedes and skillfully whip out of the narrow parking lot. Law watched her leave before getting into his less luxurious ride and shoved his keys into the ignition. As the car revved up, one final thought remained clear on his mind. He had to walk down that hallway once again.


	6. NYU

I apologize for any mistakes or derp moments in this chapter; understand that when I got home, it was late. Later than the set published time I chose (if that's make sense). Also, I want to apologize for how long this was, if it felt long to you.  
>Enjoy!<p>

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 6.<br>N.Y.U**

**F**riday came to Law in the form of a harsh light spilling across his sleep-drawn face and an ear-splitting alarm attacking his left ear. He was slow into getting up which allowed the incessant ringing to prolong for more minutes than one would have allowed. After thirty seconds of attempted snoozing had passed, Law opened one eye to search for the ringing. It fell onto the phone directly beside him, half underneath the black pillow and the other half vibrating against the white bed sheet.

Law grabbed the phone and pressed the button to shut the alarm off. With the atrocious noise finally put to rest, he slammed his head back onto the pillow and starting shutting his eyes once more. _Why do I set that damn thing all the time? _he thought, drifting closer and closer into sleep. His eyes hadn't closed for a full minute before the alarm started up again, sounding way louder than previously.

This had Law muttering curses under his native tongue as he turned the alarm off again. It was as if the phone was just waiting for the raven-haired male to fall asleep, and while Law desperately wanted to get a few extra minutes, in his gut prevented him from doing so. Law groaned while sliding the phone towards the nightstand beside his bed. He searched for the clock mounted on the wall with sleepy eyes while unwinding the covers around his legs.

When his vision settled, the numbers he read on the wall were like a punch to the gut; a second groan slipped from his mouth. It was 6:15; his first class would start at 8:30. Law came in last night close to two in the morning due to traffic being a total bitch. With the calculations running amok in his mind, the man fell back and slammed his head into the pillows, groans and curses spilling from his lips.

He slept for a total of four hours. And he had to sit in a class and listen to a lecture for two hours, depending on how much his professor wanted to go over. Law half-groaned into his pillow and began to close his eyes. He started contemplating how much time he would have if he just took a 30-minute snooze; sleep was beginning to sound enticing to him at the moment.

However, reflexes within his body refused to go back to sleep, thus keeping Law awake. With another half-groan in the form of a yawn slipping between his lips, Law raised himself back up and slid off the bed. He threw his covers back across the bed so it looked half decent when he came back in and began to amble towards the hallway like a sleep-deprived zombie. Halfway there he stopped in front of his wall mirror to get a good look at himself.

A yawn split across his face and somehow depleted more color to his already pale complexion. He had on plaid gray and black pajama pants with a white tank top that was running off his shoulders. With another yawn splitting his pale, tired face in two, Law continued ambling down the hallway of his two-bedroom apartment.

His living room and kitchen were combined as one, the bar providing the only border between the tiled floor and the grayish carpet. Law went over to the kitchen to where his black Keurig coffee maker was sitting, grabbing a white mug from the cupboards along the way. He then started to fill up the water container of the Keurig and grabbed the specific type of coffee he had every morning; French roast.

It didn't take long for the man to make the dark brown liquid. He poured it into the mug and started applying sugars and creams to it before stirring them together with a small metal spoon. Once the coffee was completed, Law rested in the crevice of his L-shaped counter and took small sips of the scalding hot liquid.

Coffee did wonders for the man. It jolted him awake and kept him up for hours and hours on end until he came home, unlike the energy drinks that have him crashed minutes after he finished them. His pale lips curved into an appreciative smirk while he sipped at the liquid, which was slowly beginning to warm up. Whoever invented coffee definitely had Law's praise and approval.

Once the entire mug was gone, Law ran tap water inside, swished it about, and placed it in the sink he barely touches. The only dishes collected there were his coffee mug and the metal spoon he used to mix the ingredients with. Returning back to his room, Law redid his bed to what it looked like before he crawled in; the pillows were neatly aligned against one another and the fleece gray throw blanket was folded across the bottom.

While he searched for an outfit to wear for class, Law pressed the home button on his phone to see if any new notifications popped up. Surprisingly, there were none. _That's surprising. I figured one of those dorks would be up this morning. _

With his chosen attire draped over the freshly made bed, Law went across the hall to his porcelain bathroom. There, he turned to his shower and slid open the frosted glass doors. He turned the golden handles to allow the frigid water run hot and adjusted the other so it could run warm. With that going on he slid the door close and started to tend to his mouth and face.

Law didn't hear the bombardment of phone calls and messages he received with the shower running and the tap water going on. After he finished with brushing his teeth and washing his face (it was more like scrubbing at the bags underneath his eyes and sunken cheeks to make them glow a bit), he started peeling apart his layer of clothing. The shirt came off first, revealing a slightly toned chest and abs faded olive in color.

The pants were next and fell in a heap beside the clothes. As a habit that none of his parents ever addressed and he too content with other things to fix, Law slept with no underwear on. He himself couldn't figure out why; it felt good and the cotton felt good against his legs and made it more comfortable to sleep. He took off his golden earrings from both ears and set them near the sink. Fully stripped and ready for the shower, Law slid open the doors and stepped inside the steamy, pouring bliss.

A contented sigh full of relief pushed itself between Law's lips upon the first hot jets streaming across his chest. He didn't start washing himself until ten minutes later—in that time he thought about last night and the big shots he met. Capone Bege, the proclaimed king of poker—who lost, Law thought ruefully—and the entire Don Quixote mafia gang.

_Eventful. _Law nodded at the word. His thoughts poured to the brunette woman and the ridiculous favor she asked of him. _Stealing five-hundred million dollars… Swiping dirty money from criminals should be a crime itself. _Not to mention the many death threats he received that night. That was enough to not want him to steal anything from the mafia family.

His final thought was the leader of the family; Don Quixote Doflamingo. For some abnormal reason the name sounded perfect in his mind. It made peculiar feelings furl in the pit of his stomach, leaving it light and fluttering. Law pushed away the feelings; as he stated last night, there was no way in hell he could be falling for a gang executive. The bar of soap in his hand was just about to be applied to his skin when several gruesome thoughts flooded back into his mind—

Him imitating Doflamingo—him getting caught by Violet for imitating Doflamingo—he mesmerized by Doflamingo's painting above the treasury room. If those didn't scream out admiration and possible feelings for the man, what did? _Total embarrassment. _

Scenarios of him and Doflamingo started to play in his mind like an old film. Most left him shuddering in disgust and forcing the scenes away, yet few were an actual turn-on for him. It was becoming worse for the raven-haired male the more these thoughts were egged him on. His occupied hand was slowly lowering to his half-erected groin area with the soap starting to slip out.

An image of a shirtless Doflamingo left to be played by Law's imaginations appeared and sped up his hand to where it lightly brushed over the tip. Upon contact, the soap once dangling in his clutches slipped free and tumbled to the checkered floor. Law couldn't even get his hand wrapped around his slightly throbbing member before the soap crashed into the bone of his toes, sending aftershocks of pain coursing through his foot and up his ankle.

The fall was fortunate for him, though; Law glanced through narrowed eyes at how close he was to touching himself to an image of the dangerous criminal. A heated hiss passed through his lips as he yanked his hand away and instead grabbed the men's body wash. "Never will I jack off to that bastard," he vowed, and gave himself the thorough washing his body needed.

Once he finished showering, Law stepped in front of his fogged mirror to do a small touch-up on his chin and sideburns. He then stepped out of the bathroom, the steam once contained behind closed doors now free and spilling out into the hallway. Most of the steam followed him into his bedroom, where he dropped his clothes into the hamper next to his closet. Drying off the rest of his body, Law folded the blanket and placed it on the back of his computer chair and grabbed a pair of clean underwear from one of his brown dressers.

He checked his clock while taking out the iron board and hooked the ironer in. 7:03—still got plenty of time. Law didn't take long in giving his black jeans a formal touch-up, and went ahead applying heat to his slim-fit casual shirt, dark blue in color. He wore another white tank-top underneath before slipping the shirt on and then his pants.

Law moved over to his closet to fetch his belt and a choice of shoes he was going to wear. He laid his eyes on a pair of mahogany leather shoes, matching the color of his chosen belt. Law carried the shoes over and placed them at the foot of his bed while reaching over for a pair of socks from his nightstand. As if on cue, his phone lit up and a loud ringtone invaded his ear.

He grabbed the phone to see who was calling and nearly cringed, then realized he hadn't bothered him all last night or this morning. The caller ID read Shachi and had a picture of his smiling face as the icon. _Well it was bound to happen sooner or later. _"What is it Sha—"

"_Dammit Law, I've been trying to get in touch with your for the past two hours! What the hell have you been doing?!" _

"Well good morning to you to, _hmph._" His socks were finally on. Law rolled his eyes at his faintly peeved friend's exaggerated reply while slipping into his shoes and tying them while his free hand positioned the phone in between his shoulder and ear. "I've been getting ready for class, what on earth did you think I was doing?"

"_Class—Law, you're not supposed to be going to class today! You're supposed to be with us for morning study session at seven. Did you forget?" _

"Study—_oh, damn._"

He didn't want to admit it to his friend, but the promise he made a few days back did go through his head while he was getting ready. Law headed back to his kitchen, profusely apologizing to Shachi along the way. "Maybe another time Shachi, but just be realistic for one second. I didn't get in 'til two last night, I think later than that. There was no way I could have woken up, got dressed, and made my way to study hall. I probably would have wrecked somewhere."

"_Hmph, I guess that's a liable excuse. But it still sucks because we made this two days ago. I even texted you this morning—did you see that?" _

"No, I was in the shower." Law repeated his coffee making process, this time grabbing a Styrofoam to-go cup. He could hear Shachi's exasperated groan on the other end, and while he was slightly peeved that his brunette friend was being selfish, he was also sad because he didn't keep his promise. In the end, all of this was his fault. "I'm sorry Shachi. You can understand that, right?"

"_I could if you'd just tell me the place you work at with hectic hours. It's getting ridiculous Law; you can't even stay after school for football games and such because you gotta be at this stupid job of yours that you won't even tell me or Penguin!" _

Now the man was annoyed. His rushed huff of breath concluded that fact. "Don't start now Shachi, it's too early in the morning."

"_What, you haven't had your fix yet?" _

"I'm making my second cup now."

"_Oh," _Rustling could be heard on the other end, and Law guessed he was getting ready to head out the door. _"Well I don't want to mess you up while you make your coffee, so I'll leave. What time does your second class end?" _

"Should be around eleven."

"_Then I'll be seeing you for lunch?" _

"Yeah."

The two agreed on a time and said their goodbyes to one another before Shachi hung up. He rested the Styrofoam cup near the coffee maker and made his way back to his bedroom for his final round. His black backpack stuffed with two textbooks and a thick binder slid onto his shoulders, and he went over to the small jewelry box resting on one of his taller dressers and pulled out two diamond earrings.

He attached them to his left ear and made his way to his second bedroom, which was more like a research/office room. Two shelves with nothing but medical books reached to the sky while a computer desk sat in between them. Law gathered his closed black laptop resting on the computer desk and its matching colored bag in which he placed it in. The last things Law grabbed before walking out the door was his wallet, coffee cup, and keys to apartment. He locked the door behind him and started heading down the hollow metal steps towards his life outside the Royal House; N.Y.U.

The walk to the university was peaceful, albeit chilly. Law hadn't reached the gates of his apartment complex when he turned back around to fetch his thick blue and gray argyle sweater. As he passed similar men and women around his age heading to the university, Law's schedule was running amid through his mind. He would have to attend two classes before hospital training with Shachi and Penguin. _I should do something for those dorks to make up for this morning… Lunch, perhaps? That should be enough to tide them over until the next study session. _

The gates of New York University stretched out before Law. A sign stood in the center of campus, framed by a variety of pink, purple, and dark red flowers. It read the university's title in black cursive letters, and had the statue of its founder built behind it. Law gave the statue his attention for a few seconds before he began crossing the large campus of the university.

Even with the chilly air surrounding him from all sides, the groups settled around campus seemed to warm the atmosphere. It brought a sheepish smirk to the man's lips as he started searching for his group. The autumn winds of November seemed to do nothing to the groups of college students; not even the threat of semester exams that were slowly peeking around the corner, or the onslaught of snow that was soon to arrive.

Law had started to prepare for the semester exams, but with the Royal House eating up his time he was barely able to open up a textbook. _It's funny; I agreed to morning study session solely for that reason—and I couldn't even keep that promise. _The more he thought about it, the more it sickened him. Law pushed away the thoughts as he traversed down the paved walkway towards his first building, searching for either Shachi or Penguin.

Both remained out of sight by the time Law reached the building where his first two classes were at. It disheartened him a bit; he was used to at least one of them showing up around the corner and walking him to his class. But the walk alone provided him with enough time to think about how to make it up for his two friends in missing an hour of study session.

_I'll take them both to Bowery Diner for lunch. That'll make them happy for sure. _The small restaurant, while it was a bit pricey, was also the nearest to NYU. He rounded the corner of the hallway and started up the flight of stairs to the second floor, the diner still fresh on his mind. When he reached the top floor, his classroom opened up to him like a beacon of light.

No, more like a light of despair when he saw Spandam. Law trudged into the classroom, giving a brief nod to the US Government professor, and went towards his seat next to the window. It was still fifteen minutes before class began, so to entertain himself Law pulled out his textbook and started reading over paragraphs he studied previous nights before. Other students attending the same class poured in, most muttering about the cold while others rambled excitedly about other things. Class had started when the twenty-first student arrived, and Law tucked the textbook away.

If boredom had been a disease, Law was severely diagnosed with it. The effects of the coffee couldn't keep him up with Spandam lectures, and thinking about the diner just made him hungry than he actually was. With his textbook for the class out, he wrote the important things down on pieces of loose-leaf and underlined others in the book, then doodled for a good thirty minutes into the lecture.

He thought back to the Royal House, but that didn't last much longer than a second—he didn't even want to dream about getting another unexpected hard-on for a man that was probably on top of New York's most wanted list. Perhaps what Shachi told him this morning was true; perhaps all of this was getting ridiculous and he needed to stop before he damaged his already waning health.

But the reasoning as to why he was working at the place came back to him like a sudden slap across the face. Class had finally ended, and Law started packing up his things to leave. Bookmarking the chapter in which they covered to study for later, he squeezed out of the desk and followed the crowd out the door. His next class was on the same hall but downstairs—science. That wouldn't be too bad since science did interest him; the anatomy part at least.

Professor Henzo was constructing a large diagram on the dry-erase board when Law and several other students came in. He gave each a brief greeting, his eyes lingering on Law's for a second longer before he returned his attention back onto the board. "Good morning everyone. I hope your day hasn't been troublesome in the least and that you've gotten a good night's rest, because today we're doing labs."

Law snorted at the ironic greeting while grabbing a white coat and some goggles from the closet. His chosen lab partner, a man roughly around the same age as him with long blonde hair tied back in a loose ponytail, was setting out the equipment for their lab. Law helped by sorting out the different beakers. He was completely engrossed in his task to feel his partner's eyes bore into the side of his head, and when he did look up he saw a surprisingly placid face was fixed on his expression. "You seem a bit out of it today Trafalgar. Everything alright?"

"Yeah, don't worry about me."

"I'd have too—I don't want you singing half of your head because you failed to grab at least six hours of sleep the night before."

Law cringed at the words but said nothing more. His lab partner was always close into guessing how much he had slept, and it worried him. The rest of that day, they worked on their lab, which unfortunately to Law didn't interest him in the slightest. It was alchemy, turning base metals to gold, and a written lab report was due the following day they came back. How he was going to manage that was beyond him, and he pushed to the back of his mind to deal with later.

Now with his second class over and done with, an hour break ensued. Law hurried out of the science and history building and walked down the paved pathway across the campus in search of Shachi and Penguin. He noticed a slight change in temperature than this morning with the sun fully out, and pushed up his sleeves to allow a bit of the warmth to heat his skin.

Fifteen minutes into walking beside tall grand buildings within the campus and the raven-haired male heard his name being shouted from behind him. Law stopped to allow whoever was calling his name catch up and turned around with guesstimate of who it was. A flash of red was bouncing over to him, waving his hand as if telling the man to 'wait up'. "Hello, Eustass. I guess you're on your break too?"

The redhead stopped in front of Law, flashing him a wild smirk. Eustass Kid, while being several inches taller than the man, was younger than him. He wore a pair of faded jeans tucked into a pair of black combat boots, with a heavy black sweater on. Law could see a red shirt peeking underneath the partially zipped sweater before looking up into the others bright amber eyes. "Thank God, right? I swear that woman's classroom is about an eternity long than just a mere hour,"

Judging by the way he said it, Law guessed the redhead was talking about Tsuru. He shrugged and resumed to searching for Shachi and Penguin; Eustass went about following him without permission. "You don't mind if I join you, right?"

The other's shoulders went up in a half shrug. "I don't care; I'm searching for two people at the moment."

"Oh, those two idiot friends of yours?" A scoff came from Eustass's lips. Law shot him a heated sideways glance. "You don't see me talking about your crowd of hooligans you associate yourself with. So why should you?"

"Geesh, take it as a joke. You seem a bit uptight today—did you forget to take your coffee this morning?"

While Eustass saw it as a joke, Law rolled his eyes. The redhead noticed how far he was pushing it and apologized underneath his breath, in which the other merely muttered his assent. The two walked a bit further, the silence tightly cloaked around them. They were walking towards the plaza on the side of the campus which held the cafes and small restaurants. _Perhaps they're at the plaza. _Law almost forgot that was their meet up place ever since they enrolled in NYU.

Eustass was busy eyeing Law out the corner of his eye when a thought came to his mind. He quickly reached for Law's wrist, yanking him to a stop. "Hey Trafalgar, you want to see something cool?" An annoyed glare went through Law's eyes and bored upon the redhead's. "No. Did you not hear that I was looking for someone—"

"Oh don't be such a stuck-up. Just come with me, it'll take a minute."

"The last time something took a minute, I was late for my class."

"This is different, I swear!"

Law opened his mouth to retort, but when he saw pleading through Eustass's amber colored eyes, he closed his mouth. Instead, he sighed heavily in a sign of giving in and allowed Eustass to excitedly tug him in the complete opposite direction of the plaza. Out of slight remorse, Law sent a small apology to Shachi and Penguin in case this minute took two hours or more.

Eustass was dragging him to where a row of bikes were lined up against one of the bike racks alongside the gate. "Wait, you don't own a bike." Confusion was etched across Law's expression just as the redhead pulled out a shiny black stunts bike. "You're right—I don't. I found this bad boy on my way here one day and had to tune it up—can you believe someone just threw this away?"

"You found that in a garbage dump, did you?" Disgust crawled up Law's spine. "Oh don't act like this is the first time it's every happened. It's still pretty new."

"It was trashed; therefore, it couldn't have been new, now could it?"

Eustass's lips curved into a small smirk. "I actually found it in an alley, so it wasn't like it was thrown in a dumpster."

"It doesn't matter, it was tossed out. Now, was this all you had to show me? If that's the case, disgusting and goodbye, because I'm off to find—"

"No, this is just the mode of transportation we're taking to get there. Now hop on."

Law wanted to curse the redhead out but couldn't find it in him to do so. Instead, he questioned the man like how he would question a five year old, with a biting sarcastic tone at the end. "And how, Eustass Kid, will two be able to get on that thing?"

The look of astonishment that came from Eustass's slack-jawed face almost made Law feel like he was the one getting punked. The redhead smacked his lips and sighed, then reached over to grab his wrist for the second time. Law was too slow when he was starting to get dragged onto the handlebars, and sudden memories flooded his mind. "Like we did back in high school! C'mon, don't tell me you forgot about those years."

A faint laugh came from the raven-haired male's end as he took his seat upon the handlebars. It took a lot of adjusting to get comfortable, but when he was it felt like he was nine years younger. Eustass backed out of the bike rack and shot pass the gates of the campus, his eyes switching from over Law's shoulder and atop his bedhead.

They didn't travel too much on the busy sidewalks and took many alleys filled with nothing but dumpsters and black trash bags. Law lost count as to how many they went through, but it seemed as after the twentieth one Law shouted a dead end. Eustass removed his foot from the pedals and scraped them against the inky black asphalt, where he skidded five more feet until they were face to face with a wooden fence.

"_I probably should have warned you there were no brakes…" _Law heard the mutter slip from underneath Eustass's lips as he hopped off the handlebars and nearly choked him. "You mean—"

"But on the bright side, I'm good driver. We haven't crashed into anything."

"We could have died dumbass! That's why the damn thing was trashed; because it didn't have any brakes!"

"Law, how many times have you ridden with me?" When the screaming man didn't answer, a smirk lit up on Eustass's lips. "And out of those times, how many did we crash?"

"_One." _

"Exactly—few. Now this is what I wanted to show you."

Eustass led the man to the maroon and brown bricked wall on their right side. Law's light yellow eyes traced the brick foundation up and down to find exactly what he was looking for; spray paint was splattered and shaped in the form of wild patterns and drawings all across the wall. Law took a step back to where Eustass was to admire it in full view.

Before him stood a masterpiece of graffiti d letters and three crudely drawn shapes that were supposed to resemble faces with what looked like a pirate skull at the bottom. While Law wasn't an artist, he could definitely tell the difference between a street painter and one of Jora's paintings. _Dammit, I'm thinking about the gang again. _

Law pushed the eccentric-haired woman out of his mind and focused back onto the art. "Let me guess, Luffy?"

"Yeah, can you believe that idiot? This is pretty neat though, right? From what Bart told me, the three faces are him, Luffy, and Ussop."

"You call those faces? Looks like a damn baby had drawn this." Law scoffed while Eustass chuckled at it lightly. Silence came in between them with the occasional car horn blaring in the distance. "Luffy's going to get thrown in jail if he keeps doing these things."

"You tell the idiot that. I gave up years ago."

"You're the one closest to that hooligan. If I say it, he'll just get me to join him." The redhead muttered his assent as he continued to admire the artwork, if one would call it that. Law went about fixing the straps on his computer bag and backpack. Taking his eyes away from the paint, Eustass looked down at him and sighed quietly.

Even though he wasn't the least bit interested in him, the redhead couldn't help but have feelings for Law. And the man knew that; he had to. It angered and saddened him, because that meant he would have zero chances of getting with the man no matter how hard he tried.

A second sigh passed through his lips, this one in the form of a huff. Law looked up to him with bewildered eyes. "What's wrong?" The redhead shook it off and started making his way back to the bike leaned up against the wall. "Nothing. There's another thing I wanted to show yo—"

"Forget it. I'm already late and I'm hungry." The authoritative voice Law had gave Eustass shivers and made him chuckle. Law was already making his way out of the alley, the redhead coming up behind. "Wait, don't you want a ride?"

"And die? No thanks."


End file.
